


Consult

by MechBull



Series: Consult AU [1]
Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe, M/M, No actual underage sex, Warning tag to be safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 15
Words: 26,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27106072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MechBull/pseuds/MechBull
Summary: When a pregnant Lily falls down the stairs and lands in a coma, Bob Hughes calls in an expert.
Relationships: Reid Oliver & Katie Peretti, Reid Oliver/Luke Snyder
Series: Consult AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1978468
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to LiveJournal July 13, 2010
> 
> Rating possibly somewhere between Mature and Explicit (and only in some chapters).
> 
> I’ve only seen the Luke-centric scenes from this time period so I definitely won’t have all the characterization and subplots accurate. If something is off, blame it on that or the fact that this is an AU!

Luke sat alone in the hospital waiting room, staring at the floor. His dad hadn’t wanted him to come with them for the tests, and frankly he couldn’t blame him. The last few hours kept flashing before his eyes over and over again. How could he – why had he…it was all so crazy. He hadn’t meant to. He would never hurt his mother. He loved her. He had been upset, surely, and they were arguing, but…

In his mind’s eye, he watched her tumble down the stairs again and again. Luke tried to remember the details – had he pushed her? No, no. He would never. She had reached out for him, he had blocked her, forced her hand away and – and she lost her balance. There was nothing he could do. Nothing.

The last few days had been so awful, with his mother constantly fighting him about being gay. It wasn’t a phase; he wasn’t confused. For the first time in his life, he was sure of who he was and what he wanted. And his dad had supported him, until now – now he could barely look at him. And Luke was still unsure about Damian; he thought he could trust him, thought he was on Luke’s side, but Holden was so adamantly against him so maybe there was something... But clearly his dad could be blinded by things. He wasn’t always on Luke’s side either, and why should he be? Luke knew, deep down, that he wasn’t _really_ Holden’s son. That something would change someday. He thought the gay thing could have been it, but then it _wasn’t_. And Luke was so relieved. But now his dad wouldn’t even let him explain, was trying to keep him away from his mother.

His mother. His mother who was supposed to love him no matter what, and instead was planning on sending him away to be brainwashed. To be deprogrammed. To be scared straight. She had turned her back on him, had abandoned him. And yet Luke still loved her. He’d always love her. He’d never hurt her, but everyone would think…it seemed so obvious that of course the emotionally confused young boy would strike out, would watch his pregnant mother fall down the stairs and do nothing to stop it. Maybe even cause the supposed accident in the first place. And she might never wake up. And the baby might –

Luke buried his face in his palms, scrubbing hard. He tried to shut his brain up, to clear it as best he could, but nothing was working. The spiral of thoughts and worries just spun in ever-tighter coils in his brain. Luke didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if there was even anything he could do. Why would anyone trust him now? Why would they want his help or even bother listening to him?

Luke pulled his feet onto the plastic chair, wrapping his arms around his knees and resting his forehead against them. He didn’t know how long he sat there, trying to ignore the thoughts in his head. Trying not to cry. Trying to pray or bargain or think of something that would save his mother and sibling. Luke hated being so powerless. He vowed to himself that he would never sit useless like this again, unable to do anything. He would move mountains, he would bribe and blackmail and do whatever it took to help someone he loved.

Suddenly someone sat next to him, and Luke jerked his head up.

“Dr. Hughes,” he said softly but urgently. “Is everything OK? Is my mom – ”

“No change, unfortunately,” Bob said. “We’re doing some tests, and we’ll know more then. I’m more worried about you.”

“Me? I’m fine,” Luke said, looking away again. “I wasn’t hurt.”

“Not physically, no,” Bob said. “But it’s been a long, stressful night for you. Maybe you should go home and get some – ”

“I can’t leave,” Luke interrupted quickly. “I can’t leave her, not until I know.”

Bob nodded, staring straight ahead. Luke didn’t say anything, but his rapidly tapping foot revealed his nerves.

After a few minutes, Bob added softly, “Your dad’s just worried and scared right now, so he’s taking it out on you. But this wasn’t your fault. Accidents happen.”

“You weren’t there,” Luke replied quietly. “You don’t know.”

“No, but I know you. And there’s nothing your mother could say or do that would ever make you hurt her.”

“She was sending me away. To fix me,” Luke whispered.

Bob patted his knee. “There’s nothing to fix.”

And that was the very thing Luke needed someone to say at that moment. Luke choked back a small noise. “I was so…so hurt. And scared. And angry.”

“This wasn’t your fault, Luke,” Bob repeated.

**

Part of Luke was still tempted to accept Damian’s invitation that night. But he didn’t. He went home, where he belonged. His dad was staying overnight at the hospital, but he had kicked Luke out. Not in so many words, of course, but Luke knew that’s what his dad meant. He opened the door quietly, knowing the girls must be asleep. He was right. Only his grandma was downstairs, sitting on the couch and not really reading the book in front of her.

“Grandma,” Luke said softly.

Emma started, looking up at him in surprise. She walked over quickly, pulling Luke into a tight hug.

“Oh my sweet boy,” she said in his ear. Backing away slightly, she left her hands on his shoulders as she asked, “Your mama?”

Luke shook his head. “It’s bad,” he said. “Really bad.”

Emma raised one hand to her face, wiping at the tears in her eyes. “She’ll be OK. I know she will. And she’ll be home soon.”

Luke nodded, trying to believe her.

**

It had been almost two weeks since the fall. The baby was stable and developing as expected; Lily showed no change. Holden was still barely talking to Luke, and Damian’s place was looking more and more welcoming. For the moment, however, Luke, Lucinda and Holden were sitting in Bob's office, along with the head of the neurology department.

“I’m afraid,” Dr. Roberts was saying, “at this stage, I’m running out of options. We’ve tried different treatments, but her best chance is to operate. We can put it off a few weeks, in the hopes of giving the baby more time, provided Lily shows no further deterioration.”

“And the operation?” Holden asked.

“With this kind of injury and considering Lily’s current condition, it could be very tricky. You’d want the best of the best, and when it comes to these types of situations, that’s a young guy out of Texas. Barely finished medical school, but he’s already made a name for himself with some cutting-edge procedures.”

“We’ve already put a call into his office,” Bob added. “And faxed Lily’s records to him. We expect to hear from him soon.”

“Who is this doctor?” Lucinda asked. “I want to investigate him for myself.”

Bob reached forward, grabbing a Post-It on the corner of his desk. He turned it around so he could read aloud, “Reid Oliver.”


	2. Chapter 1

“Dr. Oliver? Fax for you.”

Reid nodded his thanks at the desk nurse as he walked past her on his way to his office. He took the documents from her, flipping them over so he could read the cover page. The sender was Alex Roberts, Memorial Hospital, Oakdale, Illinois. Reid mentally shrugged. It meant nothing to him.

Sitting down at his desk, Reid noticed the flashing light on his phone. He picked up the receiver and pressed the button to access his voicemail.

“Dr. Oliver, my name is Dr. Bob Hughes. I’m calling from Illinois – Memorial Hospital in Oakdale.” Reid’s eyes slid over to the faxed records. They were certainly covering all their communication bases. “I was hoping you’d consider taking a look at one of our patients. Fell down a flight of stairs, and now she’s in a coma. I think she’d benefit from your expertise.”

“I highly doubt it,” Reid muttered to himself over the sound of Hughes leaving his number. He pulled the faxed file closer to the edge of the desk. He was still new enough to read all the requests and referrals, but he was established enough to be selective in which ones he actually took on. And a simple coma from a fall was not enough to entice him to freaking Illinois.

Reid skimmed the file, boredom already settling in. And then something caught his eye. Pregnant. Questionable if the fetus had developed enough for C-section yet, which made the different treatment options somewhat limited. This could make things _marginally_ interesting. And his own case load in Dallas was in something of a lull right now – only a dozen or so active patients, none with urgent concerns. Reid tapped his fingers against the surface of the desk, and then he reached out for his phone.

The other end only rang twice before Dr. Hughes picked it up. As in his earlier message, his voice sounded like an older man’s. He was probably one of those kindly family doctor types that would fit better on a warm-hearted television show than in the real world of medicine.

“Bob Hughes,” he said.

“Dr. Hughes, this is Dr. Reid Oliver. You called me earlier today.”

“Yes, Dr. Oliver. Thank you so much for – ”

“Listen, Dr. Hughes. This case is not worth my time, but luckily for you, I have a few free days. I’ll be in town tomorrow, and I’ll examine the patient then. I’m afraid if I spend any more time than that in Illinois, I’ll get hives.”

There was a noticeable pause. “Well, luckily for you, Doctor, we have a great team of allergists.”

Reid choked back a snort and considered giving Dr. Hughes a modicum of respect. Considered. “I’ll believe it when I see it. Until tomorrow, Dr. Hughes.”

**

Luke walked slowly down the hall, eventually reaching the window to his mother’s room. He stared inside, fighting the urge to run inside and shake her, to scream in her face until she woke up. His dad sat next to her, holding her hand. Luke could see he was talking quietly, probably telling her about the girls and reminding her how much he missed her. Luke doubted his own name came up at all. The last time Luke went in there, Lily’s blood pressure had spiked. Holden “kindly” suggested that he didn’t visit her anymore.

Luke had dialed Damian’s phone three times that day. Every time he let it ring for half a second longer.

Pretty soon, he might wait until Damian answered.

The sound of footsteps caught Luke’s attention, and he turned to face Dr. Hughes and Dr. Roberts as they walked closer.

“Good news, Luke,” Dr. Hughes said, stopping next to him.

“About Mom?”

“Well, sort of,” Dr. Roberts chimed in. “Dr. Oliver has agreed to come to town. His flight is coming in soon. He’ll be able to tell us if an operation is feasible.”

Luke nodded, feeling relieved. It might not fix anything, but it was starting to feel like they were finally doing something. He turned back to the window, taking a deep breath as he looked at his mother again.

“What time is he getting here?” Luke asked quietly.

In his peripheral vision, he could see Dr. Hughes look at his watch. “His flight is landing in twenty minutes. I’ll be leaving for the airport soon.”

Luke turned to him. “Can I come?”

Dr. Hughes sighed. “I’m not sure that would be a good idea. We’ll be speaking about your mother’s condition. Rather candidly, I’d imagine.”

“You don’t have to hide anything from me,” Luke said. “I’m not a child; I know it’s bad. You don’t call in doctors from Texas for a little bump on the head. I’m so sick of being shut out.”

Dr. Hughes put his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “OK. OK, fine.”

**

Reid adjusted the strap of his carry-on bag and lifted his laptop bag over his seat on the plane. He hated standing in an unmoving line, but he hated sitting, waiting impatiently, even more. Finally, people started disembarking, and Reid wondered again why on earth so many people were willingly flying to Oakdale, Illinois. He can’t imagine the town had too many attractions.

Walking through the hall, he ran a hand across his face, trying to wake himself up. The rest of the previous day had been long – quickly dealing with some reports, making sure his patients were stable and set up with other doctors at the hospital while he was gone, making travel arrangements and packing, reading the file again in closer detail and reviewing several articles and books on trauma-induced comas and gestational timelines.

He went through the door and immediately looked around for Dr. Hughes. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting (besides kindly older gentleman with a sarcastic streak), but he figured he’d be able to guess which of the people in the tiny airport were waiting for him. There were only a few non-passengers in the lobby, many of whom were already hugging or kissing other new arrivals. In the corner stood a gray-haired man straining his neck as he looked around the crowd. Reid caught his eye and lifted his head in greeting; the older man nodded once and began to walk closer.

And that’s when Reid noticed the man (well, boy, really) with him. A young blond kid with a serious expression on his face looked up when he saw Dr. Hughes move. He met Reid’s eyes and blinked. And then he – completely unsubtly – checked Reid out.

 _Jailbait_ , Reid thought to himself in warning. But he still smirked inwardly. He needed to find some sort of entertainment while he was here, after all. Eye candy wasn’t the worst way to go.

The three of them finally made it through the small crowd to each other.

“Dr. Oliver?”

Reid recognized the voice immediately and reached out to shake the other doctor’s hand.

“Hello Dr. Hughes,” he replied, then looked pointedly at the boy, who was still staring at him like he was starving and Reid was lunch. Perhaps Reid would do his good deed for the year and teach this young man how to be discreet. Perhaps.

Dr. Hughes turned slightly, but thankfully didn’t catch the expression on his companion’s face. “This is Luke Snyder,” he said. “He is Lily Snyder’s son.”

Reid shook Luke’s hand, forcing himself to ignore the slight spark he felt. Or imagined. Then he immediately turned back to Bob Hughes.

“I’ve got everything. Let’s go.”

“You didn’t check a bag?” Dr. Hughes asked.

“I already told you,” Reid said, following the other man out of the airport lobby. Luke trailed behind, and Reid figured he was watching him walk. Not that he could blame the boy, of course. “I’m not staying for more than a day or so.”

“What?” came the sudden interruption. Reid turned, continuing to walk, and looked at Luke passively.

“You’re – but what about my mother? What if she needs an operation?”

“I’ll assess her condition and provide my opinion. That’s all I’ve agreed to. I have to believe that even the doctors here in Oakdale can manage as simple a procedure as this situation undoubtedly requires. Although considering they’ve called me in for something so straightforward, perhaps that’s giving them too much credit.”

Luke looked open-mouthed at Bob. Bob simply shrugged and pushed the door open, holding it for Luke and Reid as they walked out of the airport.

**

Luke once again sat quietly in the hall, hoping to hear some good news. The three doctors and his dad had been in his mom’s room for almost an hour. They had done some more tests on his mom – a CT scan and some other things that Luke didn’t understand but pretended to.

Through the window, he could see Dr. Oliver staring at the films they had taken. The light from the box shone on his face, casting shadows underneath his eyes and below his cheekbones. He lifted a hand, pointing something out to Dr. Roberts. Luke’s gaze traveled along Dr. Oliver’s arm, admiring the shape of his bicep half-covered by the sleeve of the borrowed scrubs. Dr. Oliver turned to face Dr. Hughes, and Luke swallowed. The angle accentuated his Adam’s apple and his long neck, and Luke wondered what it would be like to taste it, to run his tongue along the skin and –

Luke shook his head quickly, feeling disgusted with himself. His mother was in a coma and he was growing hard staring at the one doctor who might be able to fix her.

Maybe there really was something wrong with him.

Just then the door opened, and the four men walked out of the room. Luke pulled himself to his feet quickly (and pulled his shirt down as far as it would go). He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked expectantly at everyone.

His dad glanced at him quickly, then walked over.

“Dr. Oliver thinks surgery is the best option.”

That was all Holden said, before turning back to the doctors. Dr. Oliver stepped a few feet away, pulling out his cell phone and flipping through text messages while the others talked.

“Holden, let’s go to my office and draw up the consent forms,” Dr. Hughes said.

Holden nodded, quickly squeezing Luke’s arm before following the other two men down the hall. Once they were out of earshot, Luke turned back to Dr. Oliver.

“You’re going to stay? You’re going to help her?”

The man paused, looking up in slight surprise. He gave Luke a rather condescending look before returning to his phone.

“I’ve discussed the procedure with Dr. Roberts and will be available for phone consultation,” he said distractedly.

“Phone…I don’t understand. You said yourself they wouldn’t have called you in if they could do it themselves. Why did you even come here if you weren’t going to do anything?” Luke asked, his voice rising with panic.

“Look, kid – ”

“My name is Luke,” Luke bit out.

“Mr. Snyder,” Dr. Oliver said, sighing loudly. “The procedure shouldn’t even really be attempted for a couple weeks to give the baby more time. Then there will be another few weeks of intensive post-operative care and a long recovery after that. My waiting list is a year long, and I have patients in Texas already. I can’t make that kind of time commitment here. The piece of paper in Dr. Roberts’ office claims he graduated from medical school. Let him do his job.”

Luke stepped closer, grabbing Dr. Oliver’s arm. Their faces were inches away, and Dr. Oliver stared at him in shocked annoyance.

“You have to stay. I’ll – I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

Reid snorted. He reached a hand up and pried Luke’s fingers off his bicep. “Your allowance and paper route money _combined_ wouldn’t make a dent in my salary.”

“You’d be surprised. I have access to a lot of money. One phone call, that’s all it would take.”

“This conversation is over,” Reid said. Then he felt compelled to add, as if he cared what Luke thought about him, “Besides, I’m not in medicine for the money.”

The boy immediately changed tactics, flashing him a wide-eyed puppy dog look. Reid couldn’t tell if the expression was carefully calculated, or if the kid really was that cloyingly naïve. “Then why? To help people? Save lives? Why not my mother’s? Why isn’t she worth your time?”

“Didn’t you hear me? I have a dozen patients at home, all in much more serious condition than hers. Add her to my waiting list, if you must.”

“The year-long one, right? Please, there must be something I can do. Anything you want.”

Reid sighed heavily, trying to pretend his mind didn’t go in a thousand different directions with that little offer. He forced his body into submission and glared at the boy in front of him.

“Why is this so important to you?”

Luke pulled back slightly, furrowing his brow in shock and confusion. “She’s my mother,” he said, the tone of his voice indicating Reid was an idiot.

Reid shook his head, brushing that aside with a wave. “There’s something more going on here. I can tell.”

“What, you’re psychic now?” he asked defensively.

Reid didn’t reply; he merely stared at Luke until he deflated.

“I was there,” Luke said softly. “When she – fell. I couldn’t stop her. I didn’t stop her. It’s my fault.”

**

Reid tapped his foot absent-mindedly as he waited for his plane to board. He looked around the room at the lucky people who, like him, were getting the hell out of this town. He turned back to the paper in front of him, laughing inwardly at the stories that were considered news by the Oakdale press.

But he couldn’t focus. Because every few seconds, Luke Snyder’s face popped into his memory. The grief and the guilt that washed over him as he begged Reid to help. This was ridiculous. Reid ran into hard-luck cases every single day – people at their wits' end weeping in front of him. It didn’t affect him, or rather, Reid wouldn’t let it affect him. He had to choose the cases that were worth his knowledge and skill. The ones nobody else could do. When you were him, when you were the best, you couldn’t waste your time. There were lives to save, and Reid was going to save as many as he could, and that meant he had to…prioritize.

So why was this teenage kid getting to him? It wasn’t just his looks or his obvious interest. Reid had no problem finding _companionship_ whenever he wanted, and it wasn’t like he was going to take advantage of the kid anyway. So what was it? Why couldn’t he let this go?

There was Luke’s face again. Tears floating in the corners of his eyes as he took the blame for his mother’s accident. His voice barely audible, breath hitching in his throat, staring at Reid as if he were his last hope.

“Damn it,” Reid muttered, pulling out his phone.

He dialed the number quickly, before he could stop himself. Bob answered on the second ring.

“It’s Oliver,” Reid said without preamble. “I’ll do the surgery. I need to deal with a few things in Dallas, but I’ll be back by the end of the week.”

There was a long pause. “All right,” Bob finally said. “Thank you.”

“I hate hotels, so find me someplace to live for a few weeks.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Fine. Just keep my patient stable.”

Reid hung up, not waiting to hear Bob’s response. He shook his head angrily at himself.


	3. Chapter 2

“Make yourself at home here, Dr. Oliver,” Lucinda Walsh said, the tone of her voice making her sound more like a commanding general than a welcoming hostess. “My driver will be at your disposal.”

Reid looked around the guest house. It would do.

“Thank you, Ms. Walsh.”

“Anything to get my daughter the care she deserves.”

He turned to look at the woman, and they held each other’s gaze for a few beats. For the first time in ages, Reid actually felt intimidated. The older woman gave him a small smile then – or bared her teeth, perhaps. Then she turned, leaving Reid alone. He dropped his suitcase on the floor and looked around the room again.

It was minimally but tastefully decorated. Reid walked around the room, familiarizing himself with his home away from home. When Bob Hughes had called him back and said that his patient’s mother had offered him a house to stay in, Reid had been shocked, to say the least. When he returned to Oakdale though, this time on a private jet, and saw the grounds of Lucinda Walsh’s estate, Luke’s offer of payment started to make more sense. Blue bloods with silver spoons in their mouths, for sure. Not used to being turned down or not getting what they want.

Reid ignored the thrill that went through him as he wondered what else Luke Snyder might want from him. _Too young_ , he thought. _**Too young.** He was a grown man, and he’d been with plenty of amazing lovers. What the hell did he want with a no-doubt completely inexperienced boy?_

Reid groaned as he thought about how much fun it would be to give Luke Snyder some experience.

Reid shook his head quickly. He was here to operate and nothing more. Just one more success story for his reputation. His professional reputation, that is. Another notch on the – shit.

Reid grabbed the key Lucinda had given him and walked out of the house. Surely this town had someplace to get a drink.

**

“Grandmother?” Luke called out as he knocked on her open office door. No sign of life. Luke scowled. He had just wanted to know if Dr. Oliver had arrived.

Because he was worried about his mother. No other reason.

Luke crossed the few steps to the desk and pulled a notepad closer to him. He’d leave a note, asking her to call him. He guessed that was the only thing he could do. Holden was at the hospital at the moment, so Luke was avoiding it. Things were getting tenser between them by the day.

Luke looked around for a pen, finally spotting one on top of a file folder. He reached out, pausing suddenly when he saw the name on the tab. _Reid Oliver, M.D._

Luke glanced around quickly, listening to see if anyone was approaching the office. The coast seemed clear, so Luke flipped the cover open. There was a business card from a private investigator ( _Discreet and Professional_ ) clipped inside; Luke raised his eyebrows, shaking his head at his grandmother’s usual tactics. Then he focused on the information inside.

There was a cover page, summarizing the findings, and Luke skimmed it quickly. He grinned at the first entry: _junior champion, National Chess League, ages 9 through 12_. Luke couldn’t help but picture Dr. Oliver as a child, probably somewhat quiet and antisocial and apparently quite nerdy.

 _Graduated high school with honors at 16 (skipped grades 5 and 8)_ , the summary continued. _Honors B.S. from Harvard at 19, biological sciences and pre-med tracks. M.D. from Harvard Medical School at 23, top of the class. Hired at Dallas after he finished his residency at Johns Hopkins. Since the beginning of this year, has been the primary surgeon in over 20 successful operations and published 7 single author and 5 co-author articles in leading journals. Three additional operations this year resulted in death, all cleared as unavoidable by the morbidity and mortality review board. By all accounts, a genius (and knows it)._

Luke sat down, exhaling slowly. No way was this guy going to look twice at a 16-year-old high school kid. Not that it mattered. Luke only wanted him to fix his mom, that was it. And from this, it seemed like he was the perfect man for the job. And yet, Luke continued reading.

_Personal: Mother Susan, educational specialist, children’s book author, has served as consultant on primary education curriculum to state and federal officials. Father, George, full Professor, MIT Physics department. Sister Carol (9 years older), deceased at age 14. Note: inoperable brain tumor._

Luke lowered the file folder, feeling guilty. He shouldn’t know this. This was private. He felt disgusted with his grandmother for seeking this out and with himself for reading it. Dr. Oliver had a right to his secrets. Even if they helped Luke maybe understand him better. And yet he couldn’t stop. Almost against his will, Luke flipped to the next page and felt all the breath leave his body at once.

_Personal, cont’d.: Single, openly gay._

He slammed the folder shut, refusing to read anymore.

And it was just in time. He heard footsteps approaching, and Luke stood up quickly. He returned the file to the desk, reaching out again hurriedly to turn it to the correct angle. He grabbed the pen and pretended he just started writing the note.

“Oh, Luke!”

He looked up. “Grandmother! You’re here. I was just leaving you a note. Did Dr. Oliver get here?”

“Yes, he’s all settled in. Are you feeling well, darling?” Lucinda asked, circling the desk and standing next to Luke. Luke took several steps back. “You’re rather flushed.”

“I’m fine,” Luke said quickly. “I…should go check on Mom and then get home.”

He nearly ran out of the office, heading straight for the elevator. Once inside, he pressed the button to the lobby and collapsed against the back wall. He closed his eyes, exhaling shakily. In front of his mind’s eye floated the words: _Single, openly gay._

**

Reid walked around, learning more about the town he would be living in for the next few weeks. There wasn’t much to learn. He had two glasses of soda at Yo’s and reviewed their beer selection in case he wanted to return later in the evening. There was a coffee shop and a couple other small stores in what Reid assumed must be the “downtown” section of Oakdale. He spotted an Al’s Diner ahead and quickly stifled a grin. Exactly what he was looking for.

It was well past the lunch hour, so the restaurant was fairly dead. Two women – one older with gray hair and a younger blonde – sat in the corner, but there were no other customers. A waitress behind the counter nodded at Reid in greeting. Reid turned and slid into the booth next to the door, pulling a menu from the clip next to the condiments.

“I wonder who that is.”

Reid tilted his head slightly at the voice that softly carried over to him. He then heard someone shift in her seat, apparently turning around.

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“Cute.”

“Katie.”

“What? I’m single. At the moment.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“I’m eternally optimistic, Kim. There’s a difference.”

Reid rolled his eyes, tuning out the conversation and focusing back on the menu in front of him.

**

Luke walked cautiously down the hospital corridor. It was about 5:00 so he was fairly certain his dad was eating dinner at home to spend some time with the girls. He peeked in Lily’s room just to be sure, then he took a deep breath and opened the door. He hoped his presence wouldn’t cause any problems this time.

Luke made his way slowly to the bed and sat down. He reached out, placing his palm over the back of Lily’s hand.

“Hi Mom,” he said, barely above a whisper. “Sorry I haven’t been here the last couple days. Things have been kind of weird between Dad and me. Not that you should worry about that, OK, so forget I said anything. We’re just all…really upset about you and want you to wake up.”

Luke swallowed, blinking rapidly as he looked away. He exhaled slowly. “There’s a doctor in town who’s going to operate on you. He thinks it might help, and he’s probably right. He’s really good, Mom. The best. He’s kind of – mean. Although I guess it’s more that he’s direct. Up-front, you know? He doesn’t hold back any punches, which maybe is a good thing. Someone that confident probably has a reason to be, so I hope he’s right about you.”

 _He’s cute_ , Luke continued in his head. _Not that I’m going to tell anyone I think so. Especially not you, because I don’t want to cause you any more stress or pain. But God, he’s cute. I shouldn’t even be thinking about it, not with you in here because of me, because of…this. I can’t stop myself though. It almost – this feels like a_ good _secret. Something to keep to myself while I just…enjoy and explore these feelings, for a change. And after keeping so many bad secrets and feeling so ashamed and scared all the time, it’s – it’s nice._

Luke shook his head, focusing on his mom again. “Mom, please. I’m not mad at you anymore. I was just really scared. I know you love me, even if you can’t – can’t accept – ” Luke ducked his head, lifting his free hand to quickly wipe at his eyes. “God, I hope he’s right. You need to wake up.”

**

After his late lunch, Reid headed back to the house. He had managed to clear his head for a while and was starting to feel less like a pedophile. Now he just needed to maintain his focus and his priorities. He was here for a surgery. He was here to be a doctor.

He turned the corner and immediately ran into someone shopping at the outside rack of a small fashion shop. It was the blonde woman from the diner, and Reid couldn’t help but wonder if the encounter was entirely an accident.

“Excuse me,” he said, feigning sincerity.

“That’s quite all right,” the woman said, smiling widely.

Reid attempted to step around her. She reached out and grabbed his arm.

“As long as I have you here, could I ask your opinion?”

Reid sighed. “What?”

She held up two similar tops. “Blue or red?”

“Work or play?” Reid replied succinctly.

She grinned in a way Reid imagined would work wonders on a straight man. “Play.”

“Red. It’s sluttier.”

She laughed coyly. “Not sure that’s the message I want to send.”

“Isn’t it? Could have fooled me.”

The woman narrowed her eyes slightly. “You’re rather rude, aren’t you?”

“You’re the one wasting my time.”

The smile was completely gone now. The woman fell back, crossing her arms. “Don’t let me keep you,” she said tersely.

Reid nodded once, then kept walking. Halfway down the block, he glanced over his shoulder. The woman had forced both tops back on the rack and was now walking quickly in the other direction. Reid smirked. Maybe this town had its moments of entertainment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh, OK. The only thing I've really heard about Katie pre-Brad/Jacob was that she could be rather...tenacious when she was after a guy, so hopefully I'm not going too overboard with that. I know this is before Brad, but I'm not sure if she was single at this time period. We're going to pretend she is, because I just love the idea of her setting her sights on Reid.


	4. Chapter 3

The next morning, Reid sat in the corner of Java, slowly enjoying his caramel latte (with whipped cream and an extra shot). He was pretty sure he found the one damn thing about this town he might actually miss when he left. And with that thought, he slammed bars down on his subconscious as it tried to hint at other things – or rather, people – he won’t necessarily want to leave. The kid was a fine distraction when he was here for a day or two, but he wasn’t going to entertain these thoughts anymore.

Because the universe hated him, however, the person in question slid into the seat across from him. Reid stared at him in unconcealed surprise.

“Mind if I join you?”

“You should ask that before you sit down,” Reid replied.

Luke gave him a blinding smile, and Reid distracted himself by playing with the small plastic straw on the table.

“If I asked, you’d just send me away,” Luke pointed out.

Reid quirked the corner of his mouth at him and took a sip of his drink.

“Are you going to the hospital after this?” Luke asked.

Reid swallowed his drink. He rested his hand on the surface of the table and tapped his fingers. “Planning to.”

“Do you really think surgery will help my mother?”

He stared at Luke. “I’m not going to lie,” he said, unable to resist responding to the concern on Luke’s face. “It might not. But at this point…”

“Nothing could hurt?” Luke asked quietly.

Reid pressed his lips together and raised his eyebrows. Luke bent his head, focusing on the drink in front of him.

“So what happened?” Reid asked.

Luke glanced up, a bit of a deer in the headlights expression on his face. “Nothing. She just – she just fell.”

Reid narrowed his eyes slightly, but he didn’t push. The door to the shop opened, distracting Luke. Reid took the opportunity to stare at him again. His profile was pretty damn amazing, Reid had to admit. He had a feeling it’d be even better once Luke grew into his looks and began to feel more comfortable using them. Or rather, using them knowingly, because he was already pretty good at doing so unintentionally.

 _Stop it_ , Reid scolded himself. _Just stop it._

Luke turned to face him again, bending down to take a sip of his iced coffee. Luke’s lips wrapped around the straw and he pulled up some liquid.

His mouth was made for sucking co – Reid closed his eyes.

Luke cleared his throat, and Reid opened his eyes again. Luke stood up, grabbing his bag off the floor. He turned to Reid, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“Good luck with my mom today,” he said. “I’ll probably swing by the hospital later.”

Reid shrugged, glancing away.

“I gotta go to school,” Luke added, by way of goodbye.

As Luke left the building, Reid nodded slowly. School. That had been something like a bucket of cold water thrown on him. Thank God.

He didn’t see the boy stop just outside the door and put his face in his hands in embarrassment.

**

Reid didn’t think he’d been as aware of the passing time since _he_ had been in high school. Three o’clock still seemed as far away as it had back then. To kill time both that day and until Lily Snyder was ready for surgery, he agreed to take on other cases as well. In the morning, he and Dr. Roberts discussed the 17 patients in the neuro ward, and after lunch, Reid completed rounds and then took on a few Urgent Care cases in the clinic.

Finally, finally, it was about time for Luke to show up, provided he showed up at all, and Reid made his way back towards Lily’s room. That wasn’t _why_ he went back to the room, Reid belatedly tried to convince himself. He should monitor his patient’s status, is all.

Reid turned the corner and saw Holden Snyder getting in another man’s face.

“I just came to see how Lily was doing. I was concerned,” the other man said calmly and with a noticeable accent.

“Stay away from my wife. Stay away from my family,” Holden ordered between gritted teeth.

“I have a right to be here. Luciano is – ”

“Luke is _my_ son!”

 _Luciano?_ Reid thought.

The son in question suddenly appeared at the opposite end of the hall. He stopped quickly when he saw the two men arguing, then started walking again.

“Dad! Damian!”

Holden backed away slightly, turning to Luke and dropping his voice. “Luke, what are you doing here? I thought we agreed it was best – ”

“You agreed,” Luke responded coldly.

“Luciano should be allowed to see his mother,” the other man said.

“Stay out of it, Damian,” Holden turned back to him. “This is a conversation between me and my son.”

Luke shook his head, laughing in disbelief. “What? Now you want to talk? You haven’t even looked at me since it happened. You don’t want anything to do with me. But now – here – in front of him, you want to be Perfect Dad or something? Give me a break!”

“Luke, that’s enough.”

“No!”

The sound of Luke’s voice breaking on that word prompted Reid to finally move. He walked over quickly, stepping directly between the two adults.

“Hey!” he said sharply and everyone turned to look at him. Reid noticed Luke’s expression of shock and realized that Luke hadn’t known he was there. “This is a hospital. There are patients trying to recuperate here. Take it outside or _grow the hell up, all of you_.”

Then Reid walked away, heading directly for Lily Snyder’s room. Once inside, he grabbed the file out of the slot at the foot of the bed and tore it open. He pretended to be reading the latest notes from the floor nurse, but he was really fuming inside – at the men who were causing Luke pain and at himself for caring.

The door opened behind him, and Reid half-turned. It was Holden. He focused back on Lily, flipping the covers over her feet up and removing a reflex hammer from his coat pocket. Reid reached down, tracing the instrument up the soles of Lily’s feet. He nodded to himself as she reacted. Flipping the covers back down, he walked around the bed.

“Sorry about that,” Holden said quietly. “Ah, Damian Grimaldi is Luke’s biological father, and he always brings out the worst in me.”

“I don’t really care,” Reid said, not looking up even as he filed away that piece of information. “I care about the well-being of my patients. That’s it.”

Reid pried Lily’s eyelids apart, shining a flashlight into her eye. The pupil contracted, and he moved to the other side.

“Any change?”

Reid straightened, sighing as he made notes in the chart. “Nope. Her vitals and reflexes are still in acceptable ranges. She’s just not waking up.”

He dropped the chart back into the slot and walked out of the room. He glanced quickly around the hall and spotted Luke in the corner. Damian Grimaldi was still there, and he was resting a hand on Luke’s shoulder. Luke looked rather distraught, and Damian bent down to talk to him softly. Luke nodded, and Damian slid his hand around Luke’s shoulders to guide him out of sight.

**

Damian drove Luke home, and Luke immediately ran up to his room to pack a bag. He couldn’t stay here anymore, not with things like they were between him and his dad. Damian had once again offered him a place to stay, and Luke couldn’t turn him down this time. He was still surprised with himself for talking back to his dad the way he did, but damn it, it needed to be said. He was so tired of it all. And the truly awful thing was that the one person that he could usually talk to when things were all messed up was his dad.

Luke shook his head, sniffling harshly as he threw some clothes into a duffle bag. He pulled the zipper shut quickly and wrapped the strap around his shoulder. He grabbed his laptop and left his room, recognizing that it might be a long time before he returned to it. Worried that he might never come back to it.

Luke all but ran down the steps. Damian was waiting for him, standing in the spot his mom had landed. Luke took a quick breath which he exhaled sharply. He could still see her there, sprawled on the floor and not moving. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the image, and looked back at Damian.

“Ready to go?” Damian asked him.

Luke nodded, and Damian led him out of the house. As they walked to Damian’s car, he asked casually, “Who was that man at the hospital? The doctor?”

“Dr. Oliver?” Luke asked, somewhat surprised by the question. “He’s from Texas. They called him in to do the surgery on Mom. He’s the best.”

Damian nodded. “What’s his first name?”

“Reid. Why?”

“Just curious.”

They arrived at Fairwinds a short time later, and Damian sent him off to a room to unpack and get settled in. Which meant Luke didn’t hear Damian make a phone call and ask an unknown person to find out more about Reid Oliver.


	5. Chapter 4

Luke flopped on his stomach on the bed in his new room at Fairwinds, rereading the blog post he had just written. It was pretty short, but only because he was wary about revealing too much. _Mom still in the hospital. School is boring as usual. Living with Damian right now. Interested in someone new, but I know it’s not going to go anywhere._

His finger hovered over the Post button as he debated submitting it. His friends were already all awkward about his mom. And he didn’t really want to deal with them teasing him about the “someone new.” Luke moved his mouse over to the Cancel button and clicked it. There really wasn’t _anyone_ he could talk to right now, he thought with a sigh.

Luke rolled onto his back and rested his hands on his stomach as he stared at the ceiling. He wondered how his mom was. He wondered if his dad missed him at all.

He wondered if Dr. Oliver had thought about him since the last time they saw each other.

Luke drummed his fingers on his stomach. He sighed and rolled back onto his front. He opened the Web browser again, went to a search engine, and typed in Reid Oliver. He scrolled through a few pages of links to journal articles, only recognizing half of the words for any given title. Eventually he found something more promising – a news article about some fellowship that Dr. Oliver had been awarded in medical school. Luke clicked on the link and smiled. Jackpot: there was a photo.

Luke stared at the picture. He spent a good ten minutes trying to decide what color Dr. Oliver’s hair was. Then he dropped his eyes to Dr. Oliver’s mouth. He wasn’t smiling, although that didn’t really surprise Luke. There was a slight curve to his lips, though, at least in the corners, and a twinkle in his eye. Luke couldn’t shake the feeling Dr. Oliver was thinking something insulting about the organization giving him the award. Or perhaps his competition. At any rate, the expression on his face was…Luke pursed his lips together and swallowed.

Luke glanced up at the door to the room. It was closed. Damian was at a business meeting of some kind and Luke wasn’t expecting him back for hours. Luke cleared his throat, propping his head on his hand and resting his elbow on the mattress as he looked back at the picture.

Suddenly, Luke realized that he had been rotating his hips unknowingly, pressing against the bed. He stopped abruptly, feeling a hot flush burn across his face.

And then, after a few moments, he started moving again, slowly and deliberately.

It had been a long time since he had done this. Too long, really. When he was just starting to…experiment with touching himself, it didn’t really matter. He didn’t think about anything but how good and maybe a little wrong-but-so-right it felt. But then, as he got older, and he started to actually imagine other people being there with him…other guys. (Kevin.) Well, it just – it felt more and more wrong and less and less good. And so he had resisted as much as possible. Changing in the locker rooms was bad enough; he didn’t need to remember the things he had pictured at the same time. So, he just…stopped. He ignored every sensation, willed his body to relax whenever he lost control, thought of Mrs. Thompson, the math teacher, naked. Anything.

He was tired of it. He had come out. And now he wanted to fully embrace what that meant. Luke exhaled roughly as his body began to respond to his actions. He dropped both forearms to the bed, pressing down to provide a counterforce to the motion of his hips. He looked up again, staring at the picture, staring at Dr. Oliver’s smirk. It wasn’t perfect; the camera certainly couldn’t pick up all the nuances of the expression that Luke was more than familiar with. So he closed his eyes, remembering to his last conversation with Dr. Oliver and the way he had looked at Luke, ranging from annoyance to concern to amusement to something else that Luke couldn’t quite figure out.

Luke sighed, swallowed, and rolled onto his back again. He pressed firmly on his leg, running his hand down his thigh, putting off touching himself as long as possible. He wanted to enjoy this. He wanted to acknowledge that this was who he was and what he desired. Luke brought his hand up to his stomach, sliding his fingers beneath his shirt and rubbing them along the top of his jeans. His breath grew ragged and Luke could feel the muscles of his stomach quivering in response. He tangled his fingers into the line of hair on his stomach, remembering when it had started to thicken and darken just a few years ago.

Luke turned his head slightly to the side, opening his eyes into narrow slits and staring at his computer screen again. Dr. Oliver looked back at him, and Luke moaned. He worried it sounded shockingly loud in the quiet room, but then he remembered no one was around to hear it. And he didn’t really care anyway.

Luke reached both hands down to his jeans, quickly unhooking the button and carefully lowering the zipper. He pushed his pants and underwear off as far as he could before contorting on the bed, shaking and kicking his legs to get them off the rest of the way. Then he planted his feet on the mattress, spreading his knees slightly. He slipped one hand back under his shirt, skimming up until he felt his nipple, hard and tight. He pinched it lightly and rolled it between his fingers and gasped at the sensation.

And then finally, he put his other hand to his dick. Luke physically could not stop the whimper that came from somewhere deep in his chest. Fluid was already leaking out of him, and he used it to ease his movement. He tightened his grip, creating friction as he stroked from the tip to the base and back again. Luke started rocking his hips again, this time thrusting up into his fist. He could feel pressure and pleasure building deep inside, and he began rubbing his pinky finger along his balls as his rhythm began to stutter.

Luke paused, wondering if he should do what he had been trying not to think about for months now. And then he decided to. He brought his free hand out from under his shirt and lifted it toward his face. He hesitated, and then stuck his fingers in his mouth. He wrapped his tongue around the digits as he moistened them. He sucked hard and wondered what it would be like to suck – _just say it, Luke_ – cock. Luke closed his eyes, exhaling somewhat nervously around his hand. When the fingers were wet, though, he removed them and dropped his hand slowly down.

Luke turned his head again, glancing at the computer screen.

“Dr. Oliver,” Luke murmured. And then he took a breath. “ _Reid_ ,” he added softly. And then he pressed his pointer finger inside himself, just barely breaching the entrance, the muscles tightening and then giving way.

“Oh crap, oh crap,” Luke choked out. He squeezed the base of his erection instinctively, somehow managing to prevent himself from coming. And then he tried to relax and he straightened his finger, pressing inside as deep as he could. The tight burn and the odd pleasure were too much and Luke lost it. He groaned loudly and lifted his ass clear off the bed as he came over his hand and stomach.

Luke collapsed onto the bed, his finger slipping out. He stared up at the ceiling, breathing heavily, a look of shock on his face.

“Wow,” he said to the room.

**

“Dr. Oliver!”

Reid turned even as he kept walking, doing a slight double take as he focused on the other man. “Dr. Hughes,” he replied.

“I have a favor to ask you.”

Reid stopped at the desk, handing several files to the nurse and taking the clipboard she handed him. As he filled out the necessary information for his closed cases and added his initials, he tilted his head slightly in Bob’s direction.

“Don’t you think you’ve asked me enough favors already?”

“Hear me out. The local news station does human interest stories, of course, and – ”

Reid groaned. “No.”

“You haven’t let me finish.”

“Because I can see where this is going. Somebody thought it’d be a great idea to highlight the hospital, or perhaps a specific department, or whatever excuse they could come up with to answer the burning question – who is that strange yet devastatingly attractive man we’ve seen around town? He must be new, because everyone in this godforsaken burg is related to everyone else through blood or marriage and probably both, and so fresh meat is always exciting. The answer’s no.”

“It’s great PR for the hospital.”

“You seriously think it would be _good_ for me to represent the hospital? Get one of your trained monkeys to do it. I’m here for one reason – to treat patients.”

“Have I mentioned my wife owns the station?”

Reid sighed loudly.

“Five minute segment. Who knows? You might enjoy it. The interviewer will no doubt highlight your many charms.”

Reid stared dead ahead, hating the world.

**

Reid wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but the next morning he found himself walking down the hall of the television station with Kim Hughes, who was familiar to him but he couldn’t place. He imagined he’d seen her around town and just hadn’t paid attention. They had just officially met a few moments ago, and Reid was pretty sure they were already off on the wrong foot. Not that he cared or anything, but Bob Hughes could still make his life miserable the next few weeks. Kim stopped abruptly next to a door and knocked twice on it.

“Katie?” she called out.

The door opened, and Reid groaned. It was his blonde stalker. Now he remembered where he’d seen Kim Hughes before. The woman – Katie – looked at him. The expression on her face was a mix of annoyed recognition and feisty flirtatiousness.

“You must be Dr. Oliver,” she said.

“I am.”

She held out a hand and Reid shook it, ignoring the fact that she let her fingers linger in his grasp as she pulled away. “I’m Katie Peretti,” she said.

“I’ll leave you two alone to prepare for the interview,” Kim said.

Reid fought the urge to yell after her, to convince her to stick around and protect him from this woman’s clutches. He turned back to Katie, and she smiled at him slyly.

“A neurosurgeon, huh? I should have known. Only surgeons are as cocky as you.”

“Mmm. But I have reason to be.”

“Prove it,” Katie said, reaching a hand up and tweaking Reid’s tie.

“No, thank you. You’re not my type.”

Katie’s eyes narrowed, and her head tilted to the side.

“I’m gay,” Reid clarified, with a frustrated sigh.

Katie fell back against the door, rolling her eyes in apparent relief. “Well, why didn’t you say so?”

Reid’s mouth dropped open. “I don’t normally go around telling every stranger who hits on me what my sexual orientation is.”

Katie waved a hand, leading him into the dressing room. “You had me worried I was losing my touch. And now we can disregard all this sexual tension between us” ( _What?_ Reid thought.) “and just become friends.”

“I don’t want to be friends with you.”

“Yes, you do. You need someone to show you this town.”

“I don’t want to be shown this town.”

“Oh, stop complaining and sit down. Let’s talk about your interview.”

Almost against his will, Reid sat down. In the long run, it probably would just be easier to do what she wanted anyway.


	6. Chapter 5

Luke woke up slowly, feeling rather groggy. It had been four days since he first allowed himself to think about Re – Dr. Oliver like that. After the rather delayed feelings of embarrassment, he quickly accepted it. Now, every chance he had, he was in his room or the shower, touching himself, biting down on his palm or his pillow to prevent himself from yelling out loud as he came with Re – Dr. Oliver’s name on his lips. He experimented, trying different speeds and maneuvers and numbers of fingers. On Saturday, he had driven the car Damian “loaned” him to the next town to buy a tube of lubricant that he kept carefully hidden. And that afternoon, he had brushed against something that made him nearly black out. After several deep breaths, Luke returned to it, rubbing the tip of his finger softly against the nub. He had come harder than he ever had before.

Luke was feeling raw and wrung out. He couldn’t concentrate on school at all, and Damian was looking at him rather suspiciously, and Luke was starting to worry there was some truth about the old wives’ tales of what could happen if you…do it too much. But he didn’t stop. It felt too good, and it kept his mind off worrying about things he couldn’t control.

Luke had avoided the hospital since that day. He didn’t want to run into his dad. And he probably would die if he saw Re – Dr. Oliver.

Luke was slightly afraid that he could read minds.

But, for now, he was still too blissed out to worry. He rolled to his back, looking down at himself. He was happy that the door to his room had a lock because it would have been hard to explain why he fell asleep at 4:00 in the afternoon completely naked. Well, probably it would be easy to explain, but that didn’t mean he wanted to.

Luke sighed, propping one arm behind his head. He tried to think coherently, without much luck. He picked absent-mindedly at the semen that had crusted onto his stomach. He should probably take a shower – a real shower.

The sounds of voices drifted up to him, and Luke narrowed his eyes in recognition. _Dad?_

He sat up quickly, rushing into the bathroom to wash his hands. Returning to the bedroom, he found his clothes where he had thrown them after school. He pulled them on quickly, not worrying about his underwear. Still buttoning his pants, he unlocked and opened the door. He practically ran downstairs, only to find Damian alone in the living room.

“Did I just hear my dad?” he asked.

Damian turned to him. “Ah, Luciano. You are here; I thought you were out.”

“No. Uh, no. I was just – I was asleep.”

“You sleep a lot lately. Are you ill?”

Luke felt the blush starting to rise on his neck. “No. It’s just…you know teenagers. My dad?”

“Yes, that was him. Like I said, I thought you were out.”

“He didn’t – didn’t want to wait for me?”

Damian gave him a sad look. “No. I’m sorry, son. He just wanted to say it was probably a good idea you were staying here.”

Luke felt his shoulders drop. “Oh. OK.” He looked away, trying to hide his disappointment.

“Would you like to go to the Lakeview for dinner tonight?” Damian offered kindly.

“Yeah, sure,” Luke replied.

**

Reid took a sip of his beer, returning the glass to the coaster and focusing back on the documents in front of him. He was reviewing the protocol for Lily Snyder’s operation. He and Dr. Roberts, Dr. Hughes and Lily’s OB/GYN had agreed it was almost time. They would attempt the C-section first, later that week or early the next. Once her system had a chance to recover, Reid would work his magic.

The waiter walked over to him and handed Reid the club sandwich he had ordered when he arrived at the Lakeview. Reid nodded his thanks, pulling the plate closer to him and placing the documents aside. Just as he took a bite, two individuals walked in the room. Reid glanced up and felt his heart skip a beat. It was Luke and Damian. He hadn’t seen Luke in days, and it had started to worry him.

Because it was probably good for Lily to get visitors. They didn’t know how much she could hear, so it was just sound medicine. Right.

Luke met his eyes, and they held each other’s gaze for a while. Luke had stopped walking almost immediately, and Reid was probably imagining things, but it seemed as if Luke was undressing him with his eyes. And then Luke broke eye contact, a blush darkening his cheeks. The trace of color did things to Reid he didn’t want to look too closely at.

Luke turned to Damian and said something softly to him. Damian looked at Reid and then nodded. He stepped over to a table in the corner, while Luke walked closer to Reid. Reid sighed, putting his sandwich down and fighting a ridiculous feeling of nervousness.

“Hi Dr. Oliver,” Luke said, his voice sounding somewhat off.

“Mr. Snyder,” Reid replied, as uninvitingly as he could.

“How – um, how are you?”

Reid’s eyes narrowed. If anything, the kid sounded more awkward than Reid felt. Quite the change from his previous brashness. “Fine,” Reid said slowly.

Luke inhaled slowly, touching the tip of his tongue to the bottom of his top teeth. He put his palm to his lower stomach, splaying his fingers. Reid’s eyes followed his movement, and he swallowed.

**

Luke hadn’t had the opportunity to change or clean up before he and Damian had left for the hotel restaurant. That unfortunate fact became extremely self-evident as soon as he started talking to Dr. Oliver. His senses felt heightened, and he could almost hear the blood rushing through his body faster and faster as his heart sped up. Without his underwear, his bare skin touched his jeans. With every shift, with every slight movement, he brushed against the seam of his zipper, and he was starting to respond predictably. Luke lifted a hand to his stomach, feeling (or perhaps imagining he could feel) the remnants of his earlier activities still sticking to his belly. He smoothed his palm over the area, trying not to focus on the fact that the reason it was there was the man sitting in front of him. The man whose eyes were fixed on Luke’s hand.

Luke stopped abruptly, dropping his hand, hoping to take Dr. Oliver’s attention away from his traitorous lower body.

“Club sandwich, huh?” Luke asked and then immediately mentally kicked himself. What a ridiculous question.

Dr. Oliver looked at his plate, appearing somewhat confused. “Uh. Yeah,” he answered.

Luke laughed shortly, lifting his hand to his eyebrow and scratching quickly. “How’s – uh, how’s my mom doing?”

“No change,” Dr. Oliver said quickly. “They’ll be doing the C-section soon, and then I’ll operate.”

“Oh,” Luke said, looking startled. “I – I didn’t know any decisions on that had been made.”

“You haven’t been by the hospital lately,” Dr. Oliver observed, and if Luke hadn’t felt so uncertain, he would have been thrilled that he had noticed his absence.

Instead, he just said, “No, I know. My dad and I – well, I’ve…been staying with Damian. My biological father.”

 _Stop talking_ , Luke, he thought to himself.

Dr. Oliver looked past him, flicking his eyes to Damian. “Oh,” was all he said.

Luke exhaled sharply. “I’ll let you get back to your dinner.” He turned and took a step.

“You should visit your mother, Luke. It might be good for her,” Dr. Oliver said quietly.

Luke turned to face him, mouth slightly open. He nodded quickly and then walked away, unaware that Reid’s eyes followed him as he returned to Damian and sat down. Damian looked up, first at Luke and then over at Reid. When Reid and Damian made eye contact, Reid looked away.

**

“Hey hon, wanna get dinner?”

Reid looked up to see Katie walking down the hospital corridor. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, it’s a hospital. You’re a doctor. I figured I’d find you here.”

“Excellent detective skills.”

“I _am_ a news reporter. Sort of."

Despite himself, Reid smiled. “Isn’t it enough for you that I’ve spent time with you three out of the last five days?”

“No.”

Reid sighed, turning away and starting to walk down the hall. “Why not?”

“Because you still haven’t admitted we’re friends yet.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Everyone needs a friend. _Especially_ in this town.”

“Well, I’m not planning on staying here for long.”

“Come on,” she said, her only response to his last statement a pout. “I’m hungry.”

“Don’t _you_ have any oth – friends?”

“Aha!”

“What?”

“You were about to say _other_. Implying besides you. Implying _you_ are my friend.”

“I have to check on my patient,” Reid said, stopping outside Lily’s door.

“I’ll wait,” Katie said with a smile. Then she looked through the window. “Oh, Lily Snyder? How’s she doing?”

“You know her? What am I saying? Of course you do.”

Reid shook his head, pushing open the door. Katie followed him inside and watched quietly as he went through the check-up. He was writing some notes into the file when the door opened again. Reid turned to look at the new arrival.

“Luke,” he said in surprise. Then he cleared his throat and modified his greeting, “Mr. Snyder.”

Luke gave him a small smile. “Like you said, it might help, right? Hi, Katie.”

“Hi Luke, how are you?”

Luke shrugged, sticking his hands in his back pockets and shifting his stance as he looked back at Reid. “Is my dad here?”

“I haven’t seen him,” Reid said, dropping his gaze from Luke’s.

Reid placed Lily’s file back in the slot next to the foot of the bed and walked towards the door. Luke started to move also, going to the chair beside Lily. When they met, there was a slight traffic jam, both of them stepping to the same side as they tried to get around each other. Luke laughed, embarrassed amusement making his eyes shine. Reid ducked his head, finally making it past Luke.

“Enjoy your visit,” Reid said with an almost pained tone as he tried to hide his sincerity. He added to Katie, “Let’s go eat.”

Katie didn’t say anything, and when they were halfway down the hall, Reid finally looked at her. She was staring back at him, her expression uncertain, confused and yet slightly calculating.

“What?” Reid asked nervously.

Katie shook her head. “Nothing,” she replied. Reid didn’t quite believe her.


	7. Chapter 6

Damian Grimaldi sat at the desk in Fairwinds, skimming the folder his private investigator had dropped off earlier. There was the basic information on Reid Oliver – his family, schooling and professional reputation. Some hints about academic impropriety in regard to a fellowship, but the accusations had been dismissed. Unfortunately, while it seemed the doctor cut corners sometimes or maybe didn’t go entirely by the book, the gambles always paid off and there was nothing he could hold over him.

Damian really hated people without pasts to exploit.

There was one angle he could work, though. He’d have to be careful with it, obviously. It couldn’t get back to Luciano, especially considering the nature of the threats he’d have to make.

But he was running out of time. He needed to get back to Malta, Luciano in tow, and get him to sign over the trust so Damian could pay off the people he owed. And the only way he could convince Luciano to come was to make him think he had no connections or obligations to his family here. He needed to keep the boy and Holden Snyder away from each other.

Damian thought he had more time, but then Holden had shown up, demanding to see “his” son. Luckily, Luciano had not come downstairs early enough, and Damian was able to get rid of Holden and make up an alternate explanation.

The phone rang, and Damian reached out, answering it quickly.

“You’re running out of time,” the voice on the other end said. "There are other ways of getting what we want. Remember, the terms of the trust state that if the boy predeceases you, the money reverts back to you."

“I know,” Damian replied tersely. “I’m handling it.”

He hung up, effectively ending the conversation, put the folder in the desk drawer which he then locked, and then stood up. Grabbing his coat, Damian walked out of the office purposefully.

**

Reid looked lovingly at the sandwich in front of him. It had been a crazy morning – an emergency surgery, and one of his other patients had crashed, and then there was a freak glee club accident at the junior high that filled the ER (Oakdale scared him sometimes). But finally, he could sit down and eat his lunch. He opened his mouth wide around the sandwich, and just when he was about to take a bite, there was a knock on the door.

The person on the other side walked in without waiting for a reply. Reid raised his eyebrows.

“This is the doctors’ lounge,” he said. “Non-employees are not allowed in here.”

“I won’t take much of your time, Dr. Oliver, but I think you’ll appreciate if we keep this conversation as private as possible.”

Curious, Reid set his sandwich down, leaning back in his chair as he stared at Damian Grimaldi.

“I assume you know who I am,” the man continued.

Reid tilted his head in acknowledgement.

“I have a favor to ask you. As you may have noticed, Luciano hasn’t visited his mother often, only once in the past week and even then only for a few minutes. This is not good for him. He needs to see her.”

“I’m waiting to hear what this favor is.”

Damian made a display of sighing in concern as he sat down on the couch in the corner. “The reason Luciano has stayed away is because of a disagreement with Holden. He doesn’t want Luciano here. I thought, perhaps, you could call me when Holden leaves the hospital, and I could let my son know it’s safe to stop by. I’m afraid that if they see each other…”

Reid smiled mockingly. “Let me get this straight. You want me to take time out of my day to spy on my patient’s husband and report back to you.”

“For Luciano’s sake. And Lily’s. My son told me you suggested it was good for her condition to receive visitors.”

“Maybe. We don’t know enough about comatose patients to say for sure. But Mr. Grimaldi,” Reid said, leaning forward. “I don’t answer to you. And you have no familial relationship with my patient. To reveal anything about her treatment or status would be a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality. If – _if_ – I were to consider your request, I would call _Luciano_ directly.”

Damian leaned back on the couch, crossing his legs. He stared at Reid for a beat. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

Reid furrowed his brow. “I beg your pardon?”

“The age of consent in Illinois is 17; my son is 16. It’s aggravated criminal sexual abuse if someone commits an act of sexual conduct with a victim under 17 and they are at least five years older than the victim. It is _also_ illegal for a person to commit sexual acts on someone under the age of 18 if he holds a position of authority or trust over the victim. Say, as a medical professional, particularly one treating the boy’s mother.”

Reid stared at the other man, speechless, blood boiling. Finally, he managed to say, “Excuse me?”

Damian Grimaldi stood up, turning his back on Reid and walking away from him. “Your sexual orientation is no secret. And people have seen you two talking outside the hospital. Do you really think it’s a good idea for your number to show up, repeatedly, on Luciano’s cell phone records?”

Reid stood up. “Are you serious? There is no – I have done noth – ”

Damian turned to face him. “The truth is irrelevant; only perception matters. How would it look to a jury? To the medical board? A young boy like that. Scared for his mother, confused about his sexuality. Do you know, I wonder, that that is what they were arguing about when she… _fell_? I imagine he would agree to just about anything if he thought it would help her.”

Reid closed his eyes, exhaling. “It is one thing,” he said slowly, “to threaten me. To imply you would put your own son at risk of – ” Reid swallowed. “Get out. We have nothing more to say to each other.”

Damian stared at him for a few moments. “I suggest you consider my _request_ ,” he finally said before walking confidently out of the room.

Reid fell back against his chair, breathing out shakily. He stared at the door that swung shut behind Damian, and he shook his head in disbelief.

**

Three days passed with no further contact between Reid and Damian Grimaldi. However, three days passed with no sign of Luke at the hospital either. Reid stared through the window, watching Holden Snyder talk quietly to his wife. It was close to 5:00, the time he usually left to spend a few hours with his young daughters. It was the time that Luke, if he came at all, would most likely show up.

Reid shook his head. He shouldn’t get involved in this.

Five o’clock came and went. Minutes ticked by, and Reid finally went into Lily Snyder’s room. He acknowledged Holden with a nod and proceeded to pretend he was checking up on his patient.

“You’re not usually here around this time,” Reid said, inwardly rolling his eyes at his attempt to be casual.

Holden didn’t seem to notice. “The girls are at my mother’s tonight. I’ll try to catch them before bedtime.”

“And your son?” Reid asked, feeling slightly breathless.

Holden looked away. “Luke and I are…not talking a lot these days.”

Reid made a noncommittal noise and left the room with no further comment. Walking directly to the nurse’s desk, he leaned against the counter and tried not to feel like an idiot. He couldn’t believe he was actually thinking about getting involved in this.

The sound of footsteps caught his attention and Reid turned. Luke Snyder had walked past him without even noticing him. As he drew closer to his mother’s room, he peeked through the window and stopped abruptly. He made a slight motion, as if he didn’t know which direction to turn, and then he quickly kept walking, rounding the far corner.

Reid gnawed at his lower lip.

**

Reid met Katie at Metro for a drink that night. Katie wasn’t paying much attention, however, as she was trying to catch the eye of the bartender.

“So you know the Snyder family, huh?” Reid asked.

“What?” Katie asked, glancing at him. “Yeah.”

“Luke too?”

Katie nodded. “He’s a real good kid. Had a rough couple of years lately.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, with the kidney transplant and everything. And obviously, his mom.”

“ _Kidney transplant?_ Never mind. You know him well enough to call him, or would that be weird?”

Katie turned to look at him again. “I’m…not following you.”

“Maybe if you paid attention instead of flashing your cleavage at the bartender.”

“Hey, at least I’m trying. I bet you haven’t had a single date since you came to town.”

“How many gay guys do you think there are in Oakdale?”

Katie shrugged. “You’ll never know if you don’t try to find out. And hell, if nothing else, we might get some free drinks out of it.”

Reid turned, glancing at the bartender. He had dirty-blond hair, a slightly upturned nose and an easy grin. Deceptively built. College-aged, maybe, or a few years older. And clearly gay. “Only if I go up there. Apparently the only thing I have to do to find a date is stick with you.”

“What?”

“You have the worst gaydar.”

Katie scowled. “Really?”

“Mmm,” Reid replied, nodding as he lifted his bottle of beer to his lips.

“How can you tell?”

“I can tell. Can you please focus now? Would you call Luke, if I asked you to?”

“When? Why?”

Reid sighed, looking away and taking another sip. “He hasn’t been to see his mother. He and Holden are estranged, and so he hasn’t stopped by the hospital a lot. I figured we could let him know when it was safe to come around, but I don’t want him to know it's coming from me.”

Katie narrowed her eyes, leaning over the table. “This does not sound like you.”

Reid shrugged, refusing to meet her eyes. “The kid seems sad. And besides, it might help my patient.”

“Oh my God,” Katie said, grinning. “I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s true. I take it your _gaydar_ knows something about him that I don’t, then.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You have a taste for veal,” Katie shot back.

Reid choked on his beer. “Don’t be ridiculous. I'm 13 years older than him. Oh, and he's _sixteen_.”

“Age is only a number,” Katie replied, sing-song.

“Except when it’s a felony,” Reid sang back.

Katie laughed, shaking her head. She turned serious. “Look, with my relationship history, I’m in no place to judge. Just please be careful, OK? For him and for you.”

“I am _not_ going to do anything with Luke Snyder. I just want you to call him whenever I let you know his dad is not at the hospital.”

Katie sighed. “Fine,” she agreed.


	8. Chapter 7

Luke sprawled out on the couch in the living room of Fairwinds. Technically, officially, he was doing his homework. In reality, he was listening to some music a friend of his from school introduced him to. It was a pretty good band, really. Luke bopped his head to the beat, tapping his pen against the edge of his textbook. With the headphones of his portable CD player on, he barely noticed the ringing of his phone. He heard it on the third ring and quickly stopped the music.

He didn’t recognize the number on the screen and hesitated for a moment.

“Hello?” he asked, finally answering the phone.

“Luke?”

“Yeah, who is this?”

“A friend.”

Luke’s brow furrowed. “Huh?”

“Just wanted to let you know that Holden has left the hospital. You should have over an hour.”

“What?” Luke asked, surprised.

But all he got was a dial tone.

**

Katie hung up and smiled at Reid triumphantly. She had stopped in to fill a prescription just as Holden was leaving. When Reid had called her to let her know, she surprised him by holding up her ringing phone to his ear. Thus, Reid was able to watch her make the first phone call of their plot. He hadn’t expected quite so much intrigue with it.

“ _A friend?_ ” Reid asked. “You didn’t need all the subterfuge, Mata Hari.”

“Of course I did. You didn’t want this getting back to you, right?”

Reid stared at her. “Yeah, but – ”

“I don’t work at the hospital, and Luke knows it. I’d have to be getting my information from somewhere. He’s seen us together before and knows we’re _chummy_. It wouldn’t be a huge leap for him.”

Reid stared at her. “Good point,” he finally admitted.

“For a genius, you’re not very smart when it comes to this kind of stuff, are you?”

“That’s what you’re here for.”

“Damn straight. But now I have to go. I should get out of here before your boyfriend shows up.”

“He’s not my boyfriend. And don’t say that where people can hear you.”

Katie waved cheerily as she walked away. Reid waited just long enough for her to be out of sight, and then he headed in the other direction. The truth of the matter was Damian Grimaldi shook him more than he cared to admit. He knew his attraction to Luke was unacceptable. He wanted the kid to be happy, wanted him to have the opportunity to see his mother, but that didn’t mean he wanted to lose his license for it. Or worse. So, in a way, monitoring when Luke came to visit Lily was self-serving as well. Because that meant he knew when he should make himself scarce.

He could do this. It was only a few days until the C-section. Then several days later, he would operate. And then they were in the home stretch. Depending on Lily’s recovery rate, he’d be able to return to Dallas shortly thereafter and never think about Luke Snyder again.

**

Luke had run out of things to tell his mom about five minutes ago and now just sat quietly, holding her hand. This was the third time that a stranger had called him and told him to go to the hospital. It was more than a little suspicious, but Luke wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. In the few moments he let himself think about it, he really wondered who was behind it. But mostly, he didn’t think about it. There was so much more to worry about. His grades, which were taking a beating. His separation from his dad. His mom’s condition, _of course_. He worried about his sisters, hoping they weren't sad that he hadn’t seen them since he moved out of the house. He worried about Damian, who was acting stranger and stranger. He worried about the pills he had seen Damian taking.

And he worried about Dr. Oliver. Or more specifically, he wondered why he hadn’t seen Dr. Oliver once since he started visiting his mom again. He was _never_ around when Luke was there.

Luke sighed and looked at his watch. He had been there for over 45 minutes. He probably was pushing his luck. Luke stood and bent over his mom to kiss her cheek.

“Bye Mom. See you soon.”

He made his way back to Fairwinds and greeted Damian as he walked in. Damian was on the phone, and it sounded like he was arguing with someone. As soon as Damian spotted him, he ended the call and hung up the phone.

“Hello, son.”

“Everything OK?”

“Of course.”

Luke looked at him suspiciously but continued to his bedroom with no further comment. He couldn’t stop thinking about it, however. Damian had been very upset with the person he was talking to. His behavior the last few days had been somewhat erratic. And he was starting to look rather frail. Luke thought again about the pills he’d seen Damian take.

After dinner, they were sitting in the living room, Luke on the couch and Damian in the corner chair. Luke kept glancing over at Damian, trying to figure out what was going on. Finally, he opened his mouth, prepared to ask, but then he was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.

Luke stared at the screen in shock. _Dad._

He considered not answering it, secretly angry that his dad just didn’t seem to care about him anymore. But there could be something wrong with his mother. He looked over at Damian.

“It’s my dad,” Luke said, feeling like he needed to explain himself.

Damian looked up quickly. He opened his mouth to say something, but he seemed, for once, at a loss. Luke answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Luke, it’s Dad.”

“Is Mom OK?”

“Yeah, yeah. Well, no change. But nothing’s wrong. How are you?”

“I’m – I’m fine.”

“Good.” Holden paused. “I miss you. The girls do too.”

Luke didn’t say anything, but he felt his heart clench. There was a long, uncomfortable silence. He traced his finger along the outside seam of his jeans. Just as he was about to reply that he missed all of them too, Holden continued talking.

“Anyway,” he said, clearing his throat. “They’re going to do the C-section tomorrow, if you wanted to be there. I’d like you there.”

“OK,” Luke agreed quickly. “What time?”

“Nine. I’ll call and excuse you from school.”

After a few more brief exchanges, Luke hung up and looked at Damian. “They’re doing the C-section tomorrow,” he repeated. “Dad wants me to be there. And I do too, of course.”

Damian smiled, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Good,” he said.

Before he could continue though, Damian started coughing heavily, the racking fit shaking his body. Concerned, Luke stood and walked over to him. He rested a hand on his back and stared at Damian in worry. As he started to calm, Luke rubbed his shoulders softly.

“Are you OK?” he asked.

Damian waved his hand. “Yes, yes.”

“Damian.”

“Luciano, I’m fine.”

“I’ve seen the pills, Damian. What’s going on?”

Damian looked up at him. “Nothing. I promise.”

Luke stared at him skeptically.

**

Luke asked Damian to drop him off at the hospital early. He walked into Lily’s room while they were prepping her for surgery. There were several doctors and nurses in there, but he spotted Dr. Oliver immediately. He was reading output from a machine that Luke imagined measured nerve activity or something. Dr. Oliver glanced up at him when he entered and then looked quickly away. Luke focused on his dad and grandmother.

Lucinda pulled him into a hug immediately and murmured reassuringly in his ear. Holden held back while they hugged, and Luke didn’t risk looking at him. When Lucinda backed away, Luke finally gave his dad a small smile. He was completely shocked when Holden reached out and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him in for a tight hug. Luke exhaled sharply, blinking back tears as he wrapped his arms around his dad.

It wasn’t until they finally let each other go that Luke remembered Dr. Oliver was in the room. He blushed crimson at the thought that he’d seen Luke get all weepy because his dad hugged him.

But he didn’t think about it long, because the doctors were starting to wrap up their discussion. The OB/GYN turned to his dad.

“Holden, we’re going to take Lily to the operating room now. We’ll keep you informed as much as possible. I’ll be doing the procedure, but Dr. Oliver will be there as well to continue to monitor Lily’s status.”

Holden nodded. Luke and Lucinda stepped aside as the orderlies began pushing the gurney out of the room. Luke put a hand out, tracing his fingers along his mom’s arm as she rolled past him. The others followed, and as he left the room, Dr. Oliver met Luke’s eyes for a brief moment. Luke inhaled unsteadily.

**

He spent most of the surgery chatting with his grandmother, who filled the awkward pauses with her usual flair. But, frankly, it was enough for Luke to be sitting near Holden, to know that he was there because Holden wanted him to be. Every so often, he would sneak a peek at his dad. Sometimes their eyes would catch, and they would share an amused smirk at whatever Lucinda was talking about.

And then, it was all over. Lily was doing well, now in the recovery room, and the doctor allowed them to see the baby for a few minutes. Holden held him first, and then Lucinda. When it was Luke’s turn, he took his new brother carefully. Lucinda rather obviously stepped out of the room so she could call Emma with the details.

Luke smiled down at his brother, who was squirming in his sleep. Holden cleared his throat, and Luke looked up.

“He’s amazing,” Luke whispered.

“He reminds me of you, when you were born.”

Luke smiled. “Dad – ” he began.

But Holden interrupted him. “When this little guy comes home, it’s going to be kind of crazy. Babies are a lot of work.”

“I remember,” Luke said, grinning as he thought back to Natalie after she was born.

“I could use all the help I could get.”

Luke’s grin faded slightly. “What – what are you – ”

Holden sighed, looking down. “Luke, I want you to come home. I want us all to be a family again. I know I pushed you away, and that was wrong of me. What happened wasn’t your fault, I know that. And you’re always welcome at home or here with your mom. Just – just come home. Please.”

Luke’s grin returned full-force, and he blinked rapidly against the tears that threatened. “OK,” he agreed. “OK.”


	9. Chapter 8

Luke took a deep breath before knocking on the door to the office. When Damian replied, he turned the knob and stepped inside. Damian glanced up and gave him a smile.

“Hello Luciano.”

Luke smiled back at him. “It’s a boy. No name yet, but he’s absolutely amazing.”

“I am happy to hear that. And your mother?”

“She’s still in the coma, but the surgery went well. They’ve moved her back to her room, and Dr. Oliver will operate in a few days to a week.”

Damian nodded, then continued to stare at Luke, waiting. As if he knew what Luke was about to say.

“Um.” Luke paused, swallowing. “My dad has asked me to come home. I think I probably should go. He’ll need help with the baby and my sisters and everything.”

“Is that what you want, my son?”

Luke hesitated and then nodded. “Yeah. I think so. I mean, thank you so much for letting me stay here with you. I really – I liked getting to know you better. But I should probably go home.”

Damian sighed as he walked around to the front of the desk. He clasped his hands together and sat down on the edge of the desk.

“That is probably for the best. I’ll be returning to Malta soon anyway.”

“Oh,” Luke replied softly. “How – how soon?”

“Very soon. My doctors – ” Damian cut himself off and looked away.

Luke felt his stomach drop. “Doctors? What doctors?”

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Damian! Does this have to do with the pills? Are you sick?”

Damian looked at him, a serious expression on his face. Finally, he relented, nodding slightly. “The pills – they are, they are end-stage treatment for my condition. It is why I came to Oakdale. I wanted to see you one last time.”

Luke stared at Damian, his mouth hanging open. He blinked and then forced himself to speak. “Have you been to doctors here? What do they say? You can’t just – you can’t give up. I – ”

Damian stood, walking closer to him. He rested his hands on Luke’s neck and looked down at him. “Don’t be upset, Luciano. There is nothing we can do.” He tilted his chin down and kissed Luke’s forehead. “You should go pack up. I’ll drive you home.”

He exited the room, leaving Luke alone. Luke stood motionless, staring ahead in shock. He finally jolted to movement, turning to look at the door through which Damian had disappeared. Luke blinked several times, trying to figure out what to do.

**

He and Damian didn’t speak to each other at all during the drive to his house. When Damian put the car in park, though, Luke finally turned to him.

“Will you wait here?” he asked. “Just…wait.”

Damian didn’t reply. He merely looked at Luke for a beat, then nodded in agreement. For good measure, Luke left his bag in the footwell of the seat and went inside empty-handed.

As soon as he walked through the door, there was commotion. Both girls came running at him, throwing their arms around him in exuberant hugs. Luke bent slightly, hugging them back. He finally just dropped to his knees, trying to focus on both of them as they spoke excitedly.

“Girls, let Luke get inside and sit down.”

Luke glanced up and saw his dad. He wavered for a long moment, unsure he could do what he came here to do. And then he found his resolve and stood up.

“Actually, Faith, Natalie. I have to talk to Dad for a second.”

They complained but eventually ran upstairs to get drawings they had made for Luke while he was gone. Holden looked at him cautiously.

“Where’s all your stuff?” he asked.

“In the car. Dad – ”

“What’s going on, Luke?”

Luke swallowed, closing his eyes briefly. “I’m not coming home,” he said. “I’m – I’m going to go to Malta with Damian.”

Holden shifted, bending his head slightly as he adjusted his stance. “What?”

“You have lots of people here to help you out. The girls and Grandma and Grandmother. I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Luke said quickly. “And Mom, she – well. Anyway, Damian doesn’t have anyone. And he needs someone right now, Dad. He needs me.”

“I don’t understand.”

Luke took a deep breath and exhaled. “He’s sick, Dad. He’s dying. And – and I…”

“He seems perfectly healthy to me.”

“He’s not.”

Holden shook his head, stepping closer. “This sounds like another one of his tricks.”

“Don’t say that, please. He wouldn’t lie to me. Not about something like this.”

Holden closed his eyes, breathing deep in an attempt to calm himself. “Luke, you can’t just leave the country. You’re 16 years old. What about – what about school?”

“I’m sure they have schools in Malta, Dad.”

“What about Mom?”

Luke looked down, clenching his jaw as he tried not to get emotional. “There’s nothing I can do for her here. Damian only has a little bit of time. He might even – I might be back before she wakes up.”

“Luke, think about this. Don’t do anything – ”

Luke focused on his dad again. “I’m going, Dad.”

And with that, he turned around, ignoring Holden’s calls as he walked out of the house and back to the car. Damian looked at him curiously, as he climbed back into the passenger seat and pulled on his seat belt.

“So what’s Malta like?”

“I’m sorry?”

“I thought I might come with you.”

Damian fought a smile. “Are you sure? What about your family?”

“You’re my family too, Damian. I need a few days, and then we can go.”

**

But things weren’t that easy, because Holden continued to call him, continued to try to convince him that Damian was lying and he needed to return home. And Damian often agreed with him that it was probably for the best, but Luke could see him getting weaker by the day. He wasn’t eating or sleeping, as far as Luke could tell, and his voice was rough from the constant coughing. And his mom was still…the same, more or less, except she wasn’t healing as fast from the C-section as they would have liked. He overheard his dad and Dr. Oliver talking. They couldn’t do the surgery until she was more stable, but at the same time, every day they waited…

He ran into his dad at Java today, and they had another disagreement about Damian. And then at school, Kevin and a few of the guys from the team were discussing which girls were the best at giving handjobs and they kept trying to get Luke to participate in the conversation. And then at Al’s after school, he saw Dr. Oliver picking up take-out, but he barely even spoke to Luke before leaving as quickly as possible. And then when he got back to Fairwinds, Damian was nowhere to be seen. He had left Luke a note, though, saying the doctor had called that day and reported that the latest test results were not good and he needed to return to Malta as soon as possible.

It was all – it was all too much. Luke didn’t know what to do. No matter what he decided, he’d be hurting or abandoning someone. Everything was just so confusing and so scary. And…without thinking, he went to the liquor cabinet in the corner of the office. He pulled out a bottle of vodka, unscrewing the cap and taking a drink before realizing what he was even doing.

He stared at the bottle. And then he took another drink.

**

Reid stretched out on the couch, the remains of his dinner still on the coffee table. He was ostensibly reading a journal article, but in actuality, he was remembering back to his run-in with Luke at Al’s. The kid had seemed very stressed out, but as usual, he beamed when he saw Reid. He had started to speak to Reid, but Reid shut him down as quickly as possible. He walked out of Al’s, leaving Luke there alone. When he quickly glanced through the window, the boy was still standing in the middle of the room, looking confused and hurt.

Reid lifted his hand to the bridge of his nose. _Get it together_ , he thought to himself, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head quickly. He focused back on the article in front of him and made a note next to a citation he should read as well.

There was a knock on the door, and Reid lowered the journal to his lap, staring at it in surprise. The only person it could possibly be was Katie, and she was having dinner with some Hank friend of hers. Maybe Lucinda, but she tended to leave Reid alone.

At the second knock, he threw the journal on the table and swung his feet off the couch. Standing, he made his way to the door and opened it. He immediately gulped, staring at his visitor in surprise.

Luke was leaning against the doorframe, biting his lower lip in a shy smile. The top buttons of his shirt (a striped polo, of course) were undone, revealing the kind of chest hair you wouldn’t expect to see on a 16-year-old boy. ( _Sixteen_ , Reid reminded himself. _Sixteen_.)

“Hello,” Reid said cautiously.

Luke pushed off the doorframe. “Hi,” he replied, crowding Reid as he walked past him. Reid caught a trace (more than a trace) of alcohol on him, and he furrowed his brow. He turned to face Luke, closing the door behind him. Now, in the light of the room, he could see Luke’s eyes were somewhat unfocused.

“Have you been drinking?” he asked.

Luke shrugged. “A little.”

“Luke, you’re underage. And you’ve had a kidney transplant.”

He turned on Reid then, grinning broadly. “And how do you know that, Dr. Oliver?” He stepped closer, lifting a hand to Reid’s collar. He tweaked it, and Reid backed away. “Have you been doing a little research on me?”

“What are you doing here, Luke?”

“You left Al’s before I could tell you. I’m leaving the country soon. I thought we could… _say goodbye_.”


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Some Reid/OMC in this chapter

Reid’s brain more or less exploded on him, and he grasped the one thing he could. “You’re leaving the country?”

Luke nodded. “I’m going to Malta. With Damian. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. This might be the last time we see each other. We should probably make the most of it.”

As he spoke, Luke stepped forward. He reached out to trace a finger lightly down Reid’s chest. Reid huffed out a breath and took a giant step back.

“Luke, come on. Sit down, sober up, and I’ll take you home.”

Luke shook his head. “I don’t want you to take me home,” he said, stepping closer to Reid again. “I don’t think you want that, either.”

Reid backed away again, and Luke smiled. He chuckled and then started speaking. With every sentence, he walked closer to Reid and Reid retreated further. “Before I came over here tonight, I dialed this strange number that’s been calling me this last week. And when the person answered, I suddenly realized who it was. But it didn’t make any sense – why would Katie be calling me? And how did she even know when to? And then it hit me. You two are friends. See, I’m not that drunk.” Luke laughed. “Or at least, I wasn’t then. I am now. I am _very_ drunk now.”

Reid shook his head, preparing to interrupt, but Luke continued to talk over him. “So, I started to piece together other things. Like the way you were never around when I went to the hospital. Almost like you were avoiding me. And the way you’d look at me sometimes. I could never tell what you were thinking, but I think I’ve figured it out. Should I tell you what I suspect, Dr. Oliver?”

Luke placed a palm to Reid’s chest, and Reid backed away as quickly as possible. He moved too far, though, and his back hit the wall. He exhaled once, startled, and Luke grinned.

“Nowhere to go,” he said softly.

Reid closed his eyes and swallowed. When he opened them again, he saw Luke smirking.

“You’re 16 years old,” Reid said without denying Luke’s accusations.

“I’ll be 17 in four months.”

“Luke.”

“All right, fine. Seven months. But who cares?”

“It’s seven months for you. It’s jail and a massive fine and my medical license and a lifetime on the sex offender registry for me.”

“Only if someone finds out,” Luke whispered as he broadly shook his head. “I won’t tell.”

He finally closed the distance between them and leaned against Reid’s body, looking up at him. Luke reached down and cupped Reid’s aching cock. Reid’s eyelids fluttered, and he stopped breathing.

“I’ve been thinking about you, Dr. Oliver. A lot. Whenever I…I want you to be my first.”

“God,” Reid whispered involuntarily.

Luke surged forward, lips puckered for a kiss. Reid immediately turned his head, and Luke’s mouth landed on his neck instead. That didn’t seem to stop Luke. He sucked open-mouthed just below Reid’s jaw, making low, throaty moans. And he continued to rub Reid through his jeans, palming the hard ridge. Reid’s knees buckled and his shoulders dropped and he almost collapsed to the floor.

“You smell so good,” Luke murmured against his skin.

“You smell like a distillery,” Reid replied, finally finding his senses again and pushing Luke away.

Luke stumbled to the side, looking at him in shock.

Reid took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. He ran a hand through his hair as he put as much distance as possible between himself and Luke Snyder before turning to face him.

“That’s enough, Luke.”

Luke shook his head, looking confused. “You want me,” he said softly, hurt. “I can tell.”

“Part of being a grown-up is recognizing you can’t always have what you want,” Reid said. “Even if you’re Richie Rich. Now sit down. I’m going to get you about a gallon of water and then I’ll take you home.”

“Don’t bother,” Luke said angrily, heading for the door.

“Luke! Don’t – ”

It was too late. Luke was out the door. Reid considered going after him, but he hadn’t heard the sound of a car earlier, so he hoped that Luke wasn’t stupid enough to have driven over here. A walk might do him good. Reid looked down at his fading yet still noticeable erection. A walk might do him some good too. And he had a pretty decent idea where he might end up.

An unbelievably short time later, Reid pulled open the door to Metro. Because it was a weekday, it was fairly dead. This was good. Reid turned immediately to the bar and allowed himself a relieved smile when he saw the bartender from the other night. As he walked up to the bar, Reid looked him over again. Maybe the hair wasn’t the exact right shade, and maybe the shape of his nose wasn’t quite like Lu – quite like it could be. And he was more than deceptively built – he was brawny. More of a football player than basketball, Reid guessed. But he would work well enough. Because he was an adult and that made up for a lot.

Reid sauntered the last few steps, pulling out the stool in the corner and sitting down. He waited until the man came to him. When the bartender arrived, he deliberately gave Reid a look over; Reid opened his mouth slightly, holding the tip of his tongue between his teeth.

“What’s your poison?” the man asked.

“Bottle of beer.”

“Anything in particular?”

“Something with a good head.”

The man smirked and disappeared again. He returned a few moments later, popping the top on a bottle and handing it to Reid. Their fingers brushed. Accidentally, of course. He stayed in Reid’s corner, running a towel over a very clean section of the bar.

“I think I’ve seen you in here before. With your…girlfriend?”

Reid lifted the bottle to his lips, tilting it at an angle to so he could sip without taking his eyes off the bartender. He put it back on the cardboard coaster and slid two fingers down the neck.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he replied.

**

The door to the small storeroom slammed shut and Reid backed against it. The man was all hands, running his palms up and down Reid’s torso before finding his ass and pulling him close, grinding their cocks together. Reid slapped a hand to the wall next to him, searching for and finally finding a light switch. He needed to see the man in front of him. _That was the whole point_ , he thought, before he shook his head quickly and focused instead on the rush of pleasure going through him.

“I only have a 15-minute break,” the man said urgently, breathlessly.

“Then what the hell are you waiting for?” Reid responded coldly.

He leaned in to kiss Reid, and in an echo from earlier in the night, Reid turned his head away. Much like Luke had, the bartender improvised, moving to the side to suck and kiss Reid’s neck. Reid stuck his hands down the back of the man’s pants, squeezing the flesh of his ass and forcing him closer. Their legs were intertwined, and Reid thrust against his muscular thigh.

“I’m Andy,” the man murmured.

 _I don’t care_ , Reid thought. But he had a feeling that response wouldn’t go over well. “Reid,” he said instead.

Andy reached for the buttons of Reid’s shirt. Reid slapped his hands away and put his own hand on the man’s shoulder, pushing firmly. Andy more than willingly dropped to his knees. He looked up at Reid with a smile and then set about unbuttoning his pants. As soon as he pushed the sides apart, he leaned forward and mouthed Reid's cock, still half-stuck behind his boxers. Reid moaned.

Andy reached through the front opening, wrapping his hand around Reid, easing him through the slit in the fabric. He bent forward, opening his mouth wide. But then he only stuck his tongue out and licked a circle around the tip while breathing hot air on Reid’s skin. Reid’s head slammed back against the door.

“Ffffff – Just do it already,” he ordered.

He wrapped his lips around Reid, drawing him into warm suction. Impatiently, Reid reached down, placing his hands on either side of the bartender’s head and holding him still while he thrust into him. The man swallowed him down as Reid went deeper and deeper. Reid began to move more urgently, and Andy relaxed, letting Reid have his way with him for a few beats. And then he raised his hands, pushing Reid’s hips against the door and taking control again. He bobbed his head back and forth, sucking and curling his tongue and humming. Reid watched his blond hair through heavy-lidded eyes. He couldn’t hold back any longer, not after denying himself earlier in the night. He made a warning sound, but Andy didn’t pull back.

Reid came hard, choking back the almost-unstoppable _Luke!_ that tore through him. The other man sucked him dry, swallowing his release. He pulled back, giving Reid one last stroke with his tongue, and then he stood, pressing against Reid’s body.

“I wanna fuck you,” he muttered in Reid’s ear.

“Dream on,” Reid managed to say. He reached down, opening the man’s jeans and squeezing his hand in. He grabbed hold of him, jerking him off roughly and quickly. It was only polite to reciprocate orgasms, after all, and Reid was feeling giving.

Andy didn’t seem to mind being turned down too much. He leaned against Reid, his forehead pressed against the surface of the door. He rocked his hips, keeping pace with Reid. He came with a low groan, splattering into his clothes and onto Reid’s hand.

They both stood silently for a few minutes, catching their breath. Reid eventually removed his hand, reaching around to Andy’s back pocket and removing the towel stuck in there. He wiped at his hands as the other man zipped himself and then Reid up.

“I work until midnight,” he said.

“That’s nice,” Reid replied, before turning around, opening the door and walking out of the bar.

He was halfway home before he finally stopped walking. He leaned up against the fence of a small house, wrapping his hands around the top of it and straightening his arms as he bent his head down. He was reeling from the events of the night, both Luke’s visit and his own excursion. He hadn’t done that since undergrad. He _hated_ anonymous sex. It wasn’t safe, in more ways than one, and it usually meant he had to find a new bar to go to or else he’d risk having to deal with hopeless mooning or hurt feelings. There were only two bars in Oakdale; he couldn’t afford to lose one. And Reid knew the only reason he was focusing on _that_ right now was so he didn’t kick himself for refusing Luke earlier.

“Damn it!” he exclaimed, before he started walking again. He couldn’t get out of Oakhell fast enough.

**

Luke groaned into the throw pillow and squeezed his eyes shut against the sunlight shining into the living room.

“Luciano,” Damian said softly.

Luke rolled over, shielding his eyes as he looked up at his father. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, running his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he tried to make some saliva. He sat up slowly.

“You slept down here?” Damian asked.

“I…couldn’t remember how to work the stairs,” Luke explained weakly.

Damian came and sat next to him. “I found the bottle,” he said. “Bottles.”

“Yeah,” Luke said softly, waiting to be lectured.

“You shouldn’t drink like that, not with your history.”

“I know. I just…I don’t know.”

Damian nodded. “I will not tolerate that kind of behavior in Malta. But that’s all we will say about it.”

“OK,” Luke replied, sighing. “Thanks.”

Luke pressed his fingers to his forehead, trying to prevent his headache from spreading. Damian pointed to a glass of water and painkillers on the coffee table. Luke moaned gratefully and leaned forward to grab them.

“When you feel better, you should pack. I booked a flight today.”

“Today?” Luke asked, quickly turning his head. Too quickly. Luke closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and exhaling.

“I’m afraid my doctors are quite insistent,” Damian replied.

Luke turned his body – slowly – towards Damian, hooking one leg on the couch cushion. “I don’t know if I can leave yet. I mean, my mom… And I need to talk to my dad. I need to say goodbye.”

“Luciano, you will have several hours, but that’s it. I would think you’d be happy to get out of town, after what happened last night.”

Luke scowled at the floor. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about it anymore.”

“Not the drinking,” Damian said, sounding hesitant. “I meant what happened with Dr. Oliver.”

Luke furrowed his brow. “I don’t know what…” The events of the previous night flooded into his memory, and Luke stood abruptly. He slapped a palm to his mouth, fighting the urge to vomit. “Oh my God!” he moaned from behind his hand.

He started pacing, holding his hands to his head. “I can’t – I can’t believe I _did_ that.” He spun on Damian, looking panicked. “And how do you know about it?!”


	11. Chapter 10

“You won’t like my answer,” Damian said. “I hired someone to – ”

“Follow me?” Luke asked, crossing his arms.

Damian shook his head. “Dr. Oliver. I wanted to make sure he was the best person to treat your mother. And I didn’t trust him with you. You’re impressionable, Luciano, and – ”

“Yeah, well,” Luke argued, still fighting his embarrassment, “you don’t have to worry. Nothing happened. Dr. Oliver was a ‘perfect gentleman’ last night.”

“Just with you,” Damian said significantly.

“What?” Luke asked, raising his head, his voice barely above a whisper.

Damian sighed, the expression on his face somewhere between uncomfortable and apologetic. He stood and walked to the desk, picking up a file folder. He brought it back and handed it to Luke. Luke looked warily at Damian and then opened it, his heart beating wildly as he wondered what he was about to see.

The pictures were relatively harmless at first glance. Reid was sitting at the bar in Metro, a beer in front of him. He was apparently talking to the bartender.

“I don’t get it,” Luke said.

“Dr. Oliver and that bartender…disappeared shortly after this picture was taken. The private investigator tells me they were in a back room for quite some time. And this wasn’t the first evening he’s spent there when that man was working.”

Luke swallowed, feeling ill.

Damian stepped closer, resting a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “I know you think you had feelings for the man, Luciano, but trust me, it was just a crush and those are fleeting. And he wasn’t ever interested in you either. It’s alright, though. You have plenty of time to find the person you _should_ be with. I doubt it will be a man. Like this.”

Luke didn’t notice Damian’s slip of the tongue as he closed the file and handed it back to him. “It’s no big deal. I went over there because I was drunk. I never really liked him anyway.”

Damian smiled and gave him a small nod. “You know what I think you need?”

“What?”

“To get out of town for a while, meet some new people.”

Luke forced a grin. “I’ll go pack up my stuff.”

**

On one hand, it was convenient to find out from his grandma that Holden was at the hospital. Luke could say goodbye to both his parents at the same time. But that meant he had to go to the hospital. He walked down the hall quickly, terrified that he was going to run into Dr. Oliver.

Someone was looking out for Luke that day, though, as he arrived at the room unspotted. He peeked inside cautiously and then entered.

“Hi Dad,” he greeted Holden.

Holden turned to him and stood immediately. He walked over to hug Luke. Luke closed his eyes and breathed in, trying to commit the feel and smell of his dad to memory.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Holden said as he pulled away.

Luke swallowed. “I came to say goodbye. We’re – we’re leaving tonight.”

“What? Luke!”

Luke shook his head. “Dad, I have to. I have to take care of Damian, and…I just want to get out of Oakdale for a while.”

Holden shook his head. “Luke, listen to me. Damian can’t be trusted.”

Luke sighed. “Can we please just have a nice goodbye?” he begged.

Holden cut himself off. Looking at Luke, he eventually sighed and nodded. Luke smiled at him in thanks and then walked over to Lily’s bed. He placed his hand over hers, bending down to kiss her cheek.

“Mom, I’m – I’m going to be going away for a little while. Everything’s OK, though. I’m going to miss you, and I promise to think of you and pray for you. I love you.”

He stepped back and looked at Holden again. They didn’t say anything for a long time, and then Luke walked out of the room. Holden reached into his coat pocket and took out his cell phone. He dialed a number quickly and waited impatiently for the person on the other end.

“Jack? It’s Holden. I need some way to stop a plane.”

**

_“Business acquaintance? Guy sounds like he’s in a bad remake of_ The Godfather _.”_

_“I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what’s happening.”_

_“Hey, get your hands off me!”_

_“Dad? What are you doing here? Jack – ”_

_“No one move, or the boy dies.”_

_“Your inheritance, Luke. They wanted everything that Damian had, including the money he was going to give you.”_

_“You’re sick, right? You wouldn’t lie to me about something like that?”_

_“Of course I love him. Love him enough to want to undo the damage you’ve done, Holden. If I had raised Luke, he would have grown into a man to be proud of. A_ true _man, Holden; I wouldn’t have allowed anything less.”_

_“Help me! Help me what? Not be gay? Send me to some camp for the hetero-challenged?”_

_“The real reason you didn’t want me going to that hospital was because you were terrified that my mom would wake up and tell the truth.”_

_“You are a Grimaldi, Luke. Don’t you ever forget that!”_

_“You were going to take me away, knowing full well that my mother could die and I would never get a chance to say that I’m sorry or that I love her, all because you needed my time and you wanted my money to save your own worthless life, you stupid, lying son of a bitch.”_

_“If Damian goes back to Malta, we can just pretend he never existed. Hell, I’m already there.”_

_“No, no, that is not who I am. Not now. Not ever.”_

_“I don’t want my future paved with his blood money. I don’t want any part of the Grimaldi fortune.”_

_“I’m a Snyder. That’s all I’ve ever been, and it’s all I want to be.”_

_“I was going to be on the next plane right behind you.”_

Flashes of memories from the last hour kept popping into Luke’s head as he stared out the passenger window of his dad’s car. Luke fought tears, trying to go back and figure out all the times Damian had lied to him over the last few weeks. Had any of it been real? He couldn’t even begin to think about all the pain he had caused his dad, just because of the things Damian made him believe.

He shifted, grunting slightly at the resulting pain in his arm. He sensed his dad looking at him briefly before turning back to the road.

“We should go to the hospital,” Holden said quietly.

“I’m fine,” Luke replied, his voice creaky from disuse and emotion.

Holden faced him again. “He wrenched your arm pretty good. Humor me.”

Luke didn’t respond, and a few moments later, he felt the car turn towards the hospital. They parked and Holden put a hand on Luke’s back, guiding him inside.

**

Reid cracked his neck as he handed the file back to the desk nurse. He was going on 20 hours at the hospital, but it felt good to be working. Getting his hands dirty and focusing on medicine. Once he was done with his own rounds, he even went down to volunteer at Urgent Care. The nurse handed him the next file.

“Possible sprained shoulder in Two.”

Reid took the file with a nod and stepped away. He opened the door to the exam room, just as he opened the file.

“OK...” Reid looked up quickly as soon as he read the name in the file. Luke was staring back at him in surprise.

Reid swallowed, ducking his head and nodding a few times to get back into control. He looked up again, relieved that Holden didn’t seem to pick up on anything off between the other two occupants of the room. Rather surprising, since Luke’s face was now about 15 shades of deep red.

“What happened?” Reid asked, upset with himself when he wasn’t able to entirely hide his concern.

“I…I – it, uh,” Luke stuttered.

Holden glanced at him, brow furrowed, and then talked for him. “His arm got twisted behind him pretty hard. It’s giving him problems.”

“Can you move it at all?” Reid turned back to Luke.

Luke nodded, not quite meeting Reid’s eyes.

“Show me.”

**

Luke lifted his arm slowly, trying not to grimace at the shooting pain. He rotated his arm around his shoulder carefully, but when he got halfway around, he couldn’t move anymore.

“Ow, ow, ow,” he said, dropping his arm.

“OK,” Reid said, quickly walking over and placing the file on the exam bed next to Luke.

He reached up, hesitating for a beat before placing his hands on Luke’s shoulder. His palms burned through the paper-thin fabric of the hospital gown. Luke closed his eyes and swallowed thickly, feeling his heart rate increase impossibly faster. Reid started pressing his fingers into Luke’s skin, half-massage, half-exploration. Despite the pain and discomfort of his injury, it was like there was a direct current from his shoulder sending bolts of pleasure to his lower body.

 _Dad’s right next to you! And Reid doesn’t want you. He doesn’t. He’s after that bartender_ , Luke reminded himself. And then a small voice in the back of his head chimed in, _Damian lied about a lot of things. What did that picture_ really _prove?_

Reid removed his hands quickly, stepping away. Luke exhaled, opening his eyes and staring straight ahead at the door to the room.

“It’s not dislocated,” Reid said, alternating his comments between Holden and Luke. (Which annoyed Luke, as he wasn’t a child.) “Probably a sprain. I’ll give him a prescription for an anti-inflammatory. Try not to use that arm too much in the next few days; you might even ask the nurse for a sling. If it doesn’t get any better, bring him in for X-rays.”

“OK,” Holden said, just as his phone buzzed. He took it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Turning to Luke, he said, “It’s Jack. I’ll be right back.”

He answered the phone, stepping out into the hall. Reid looked after him and then glanced at Luke. They made eye contact briefly before Luke turned away, blushing again.

**

“So what happened?” Reid asked again, desperate to fill the uncomfortable silence.

It didn’t really make things any less tense, however, as Luke’s expression twisted rather nastily.

“I was held hostage in the airport.”

“ _What?_ ”

“My biological father’s _business acquaintance_ held a gun to my head.”

Reid felt his stomach drop, fear coursing through his veins as he imagined a million worse outcomes than a sore shoulder.

“I – uh, I guess that explains why you’re here with Holden,” was the first thing he managed to say.

“Yeah,” Luke replied tersely.

“I take it you’re not leaving the country, after all.”

Luke looked up at him. “No.”

Reid nodded, turning his back on Luke as he wrote in his file. Luke stared at him for a moment, and then he cleared his throat.

“About last night…”

Reid’s shoulders bunched up and he lifted his head, but he didn’t turn to face Luke. The room suddenly felt like it was electrically charged.


	12. Chapter 11

“I – I’m sorry,” Luke said softly. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Reid turned around. “You weren’t,” he said with forced apathy. “You were drunk. Let’s just pretend it never happened.”

Open-mouthed, Luke nodded. “Oh – OK. It’s just – ”

“So why were you held hostage?” Reid asked loudly, holding the clipboard to his chest protectively.

Luke looked at the floor, swallowing. He wasn’t sure if he liked this particular change of subject. He worked his jaw for a while. Then he spoke.

“Damian owed some people a lot of money. He needed me to go to Malta and sign over my inheritance.”

Reid stared at him, his heart breaking at the pain on Luke’s face. He clamped down on that, hard, and said the first thing that popped into his head. “So Bad Dad played you, and Good Dad showed up just in time?”

“Shut up, _shut up_ ,” Luke said roughly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I thought he – I thought he – ”

“Lucky you have a spare,” Reid said casually, tucking his pen back into his coat pocket.

Luke jumped off the exam table, fisting his hands in Reid’s jacket and pushing him against the wall. Reid stared back at him, and their ragged breaths mingled in the space between them.

“How dare you – ” Luke began. He quickly buried his head against Reid’s chest and then lifted it again. He tried to shake him but then hissed at the pain in his arm.

Reid pressed softly against his stomach, pushing him away and back towards the exam table.

“You want to _really_ hurt your arm? Sit down.”

Luke lost his fire, stumbling back onto the edge of the table and dropping his shoulders. He stared at the floor and soon began speaking, voice rather monotone and emotionless.

“He let me believe he was on my side. He let me believe it was my mother who – and it was him. It was him, all along. She was telling the truth; she didn’t know anything about it.”

“Didn’t know anything about what?”

Luke lifted a hand, wiping quickly at his eyes. “The camp. The – the scared-straight camp. I was _so_ angry and so _hurt_. She reached out for me, and I knocked her hand away, and – and…”

Reid stared at him for a beat. “Luke,” he said firmly. “What happened with your mother was an accident. Accidents happen; they’re not always somebody’s fault. You aren’t to blame.”

“How do you know?”

Reid sighed. He reached a hand up, cupping the side of Luke’s face. Luke turned his head slightly, pressing his cheek against Reid’s palm.

“I know,” Reid said softly.

He looked up at Reid, eyes swimming in tears. “She might never wake up. I won’t be able to tell her that I’m…”

“She’ll wake up,” Reid declared. “I promise.”

**

Holden opened the door to the house, leading Luke inside. It was late at night, so everything was quiet and dark. Holden put Luke’s bag down on the floor and then turned to face him, giving him a small, uncomfortable smile. Luke tried to smile back.

“Do you need a pain pill?” Holden asked.

Luke shook his head.

“Why don’t you just go to sleep?”

Luke nodded.

He took two steps closer to the foot of the stairs and then faced Holden again.

“Dad,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry about believing Damian and going off with him, and I’m sorry about not being able to save Mom, and I’m sorry that I’ve disappointed you by being – ”

Holden stepped forward, grabbing Luke quickly and pulling him into a hug. “Don’t even think that, Luke. The only way you could ever disappoint me is by not being true to yourself. I love you exactly how you are. He doesn’t deserve you as a son. And neither do I.”

Luke sobbed once, clutching his good hand to the back of Holden’s jacket. “I love you, Dad. I love you.”

Holden nodded. “I love you too. And we’re going to be fine. You’re safe and you’re back home now, your mom will be home soon, and everything will be fine.”

**

Reid sat in the locker room, eyes closed. He breathed in and out slowly, picturing the steps of the operation in his head. Every move he’d make if the surgery went perfectly smoothly from beginning to end. Everything that could go wrong, and how he’d respond. He called up the image of Lily’s chart in his head and the most recent CT scans and EEG results, reminding himself of her current condition and how that could affect the operation and the eventual prognosis.

There was a knock on the door before it swung open. Reid opened his eyes, sighing.

“It’s almost time,” Bob Hughes said. He walked over, sitting on the bench next to Reid. “You ready?”

“Yes,” Reid replied succinctly.

Bob nodded. “I’ve,” he began slowly, “known Lily Walsh since she was Luke’s age. I’d like to be there.”

Reid looked at him. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Roberts. You can observe, but I’m in charge. I don’t want any backseat drivers.”

Bob raised his hand in understanding. “Of course.”

Reid stood. He closed his locker door and turned to Bob. “Let’s do this thing.”

**

Reid led Bob into the waiting room several hours later, his eyes automatically seeking out Luke. Luke was curled up asleep in a corner chair and while Reid wanted to go to him, he knew that was impossible. He focused on Holden instead. Holden and Lucinda both sat straighter, their fearful eyes darting back and forth between Reid and Bob.

Reid pulled up a chair and sat in front of Holden.

“There’s good news and bad news.”

Holden dropped his head forward, nodding slowly, while Lucinda collapsed back against the wall. And, at that moment, Luke jolted awake, nearly falling off the chair. His hand went immediately to his mouth, checking for drool, and then he focused on the others in the room. He stood and walked over; Reid waited until Luke sat down next to Holden before he continued.

Reid looked down at his hands. “As I was saying, there’s good news and bad news. I was able to deal with the injuries caused by Lily’s accident. However, there was far more damage than I anticipated. I can know a lot before I operate, but I can’t know everything until I get inside. And once I got inside…”

“Inside? Inside her brain?” Luke asked softly. Holden reached out, placing a hand on his knee to silence him.

Reid nodded, looking down again as he decided on his next words. “My prognosis is…hopeful. She might have some memory loss. Perhaps you’ll see some minor differences in her personality. At the same time, the extent may not be that severe. It will all depend on how long it takes her to wake up.”

Reid glanced at Luke and then immediately away, focusing on Holden and Lucinda again. “I’ll leave you alone. If you have any questions…”

Holden nodded. Reid stood, walking quickly out of the room. Behind him, Bob leaned in closer, talking quietly with the others. Reassuring them that Reid had done everything he could. Reid walked down the hall, ripping off his lab coat as he entered the locker room. He pulled the door to his locker open so quickly, it banged against the one next to it. He threw his coat inside, slamming the door shut again. The latch didn’t hold, and Reid slammed the door a second time, finally just collapsing against it and leaning into his arm. He closed his eyes and sighed.

**

Reid didn’t know how long he stood there. He kept going over the surgery again and again in his mind. There was nowhere he could have made a different move. Nowhere. The problem had been there before he even made the first incision. How had he missed it? How? He had looked at the films again before going to talk to the Snyders, and he _still_ couldn’t see it. The location of the trauma was in just the right place, or rather the wrong place. Maybe if they had tried a different resolution? Maybe if he had operated sooner instead of ( _wanting more time with Luke_ ) being cautious? Maybe if –

The door opened. Reid sighed; he _really_ did not want to hear any of Bob’s words of wisdom right now.

“Look,” he started.

“It’s me.”

Reid whirled around, staring at Luke. “You shouldn’t be back here,” he said.

Luke stuck his hands in his pockets. “I just want to know. Is it as bad as you say? Was that just worst-case scenario or…?

“I don’t know, Luke. I _do not_ know.”

Luke’s face fell. “You promised me. You _promised_ me she’d wake up. I can’t – I can’t lose her.”

Reid walked quickly over to him. He grabbed Luke by the shoulder and pulled him against his chest, wrapping his arms around Luke’s waist. Luke reached up, holding Reid tight and burying his face into the dark groove between his arm and Reid’s neck. They stood there for a few minutes, taking strength from each other. Luke’s breathing evened out, and Reid could feel his heartbeat start to slow.

“Is this a hug?” Luke murmured sadly, his muffled voice barely intelligible.

“Absolutely not,” Reid replied, smiling softly when he felt Luke’s body shake with silent laughter.

**

Luke eventually left him, returning to his family. All three of them then went home to share the news with Luke’s sisters and other grandmother. Reid finally spoke with Bob Hughes, shutting down every attempt at consolation or personal conversation and only discussing the facts of the case. And now, he stood in the recovery room, staring at Lily, waiting for the orderlies to come and bring her to the ICU.

“So, uh,” he said out loud, rolling his eyes at himself. For all the times he’d told family members to talk to their unconscious loved ones, he had never really seen the point of trying it himself. “I think you should wake up. The sooner the better. I promised your son you would, and I don’t like to be wrong. Besides, I think he’s had enough disappointment and pain in his life, don’t you?”

He took a step closer, looking down at her. “Wake up, Lily. Wake up now.”

She didn’t.


	13. Chapter 12

Reid was watching a movie at Katie’s three nights later. Or rather, Katie was watching a movie, while Reid was making fun of it. It was getting close to 1:00 in the morning, so he was feeling a little punchy, but he still managed to keep up a running commentary on why the damsel-in-distress was stupid, the plot nonsensical, the dialogue cheesy, the music inappropriate, and the hero clearly in love with his sidekick.

Katie held her stomach, laughing. “You think everyone’s gay.”

“We’ve already established that I’m much better at recognizing my kind than you are.”

“Your _kind_?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I do. Speaking of your _kind_ , what’s going on in that department?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do.”

Reid’s pager went off and he immediately reached for it.

“Damn,” Katie said. “Saved by the bell.”

“Can I use your phone?”

Katie waved permission, focusing on the TV again. Reid stood up, walking over to the side table and picking up the phone. He dialed the hospital and waited for an answer.

“This is Reid Oliver. I was paged,” he said as soon as the desk nurse picked up.

He was silent for a moment, listening to her. Then he turned and stared at Katie, eyes wide with excitement.

“When? OK, thank you. No, I’ll be right there.”

He hung up the phone and immediately began to move, grabbing his jacket and patting his pockets for his keys.

“You only get this jazzed when you get to cut into someone’s brain.”

Reid laughed. “No, not this time. Lily Snyder’s awake.”

Katie’s cheer followed him out the door.

**

Reid opened the door to the hospital room carefully. He didn’t want to startle his newly-conscious patient. The first thing he saw was Bob sitting in the visitor’s chair, holding her hand. Someone had raised her bed so she was sitting, and she turned slowly to look at Reid.

“Good morning, Lily. Sleep well?” Reid asked, smiling at her.

“This is the doctor I mentioned, Lily. Reid Oliver, the one who operated on you.”

“Too…young,” Lily said, the sound of her vowels not quite right.

Reid laughed, and Bob grinned. “I assure you, Dr. Oliver has completed medical school.”

Reid stepped closer. “Have you checked – ”

“I just got here, Dr. Oliver. I’ve left all that for you.”

Reid nodded. He lifted the covers off Lily’s feet, pressing his palms against her soles.

“Lily, could you press against my hands? As hard as you can? Good job. Now try to lift your legs. OK.”

Reid nodded, flipping the sheets back down. He glanced at Bob. “Holden?”

“We called him; he’s on his way.”

“Want to…see him,” Lily interrupted.

“He’s on his way,” Bob repeated, louder.

“A little aphasia?” Reid muttered at Bob as he passed him on his way towards the head of the bed.

“Maybe,” Bob replied, equally soft.

Reid took the penlight out of his coat pocket. “Lily, I’m going to check your eyes, OK? The light might be a little bright.”

Lily nodded, and Reid raised his hand. He held Lily’s head still, watching as her pupils reacted to the light.

“Lily, can you count to ten for me?”

She did, slowly.

“And the alphabet?”

Reid walked her through several more questions. Just as she was telling him who the president was, Holden opened the door. Lily made a soft noise, reaching her arms out, and Holden walked quickly to her. They held each other for a few moments, Holden whispering brokenly in her ear.

Reid stepped back, giving them some privacy. He met Bob in the corner of the room.

“She’s doing fairly well, all things considered,” he said.

“I agree.”

“We should probably see how much she remembers. I wanted to wait until Holden got here, in case she gets agitated.”

There was movement by the bed, and both doctors turned to face the other two again. Holden was sitting back, wiping the tears off Lily’s cheeks.

“The kids?” Lily asked.

Holden nodded. “Good. Great. I figured I’d let them sleep. But they can see you tomorrow, after school and after you’ve had some rest and have gotten used to things a bit. But I know they can’t wait to see you. All four of them.”

She furrowed her brow. “Four?” And then a look of shocked realization washed over her. “Four! My baby!”

All three men smiled at the reaction (and the positive sign).

“Four,” Holden said again, nodding. “He’s beautiful and healthy and getting so big. He can’t wait to see his mama.”

“He?”

“We named him Ethan. Luke found the list you had made.”

Lily ducked her head, clearly searching her mind for something. “Luke,” she murmured. “Something’s – something’s wrong with Luke. I need – ”

Reid bit his tongue, wanting to tell her that there was _nothing_ wrong with her son. But it turned out he had jumped to conclusions. Lily raised her head again.

“Damian! The camp! I didn’t know. And Luke was – ”

Holden shook his head, resting his hands on his wife’s shoulders. “It’s fine. He knows the truth. Damian’s gone. Everything’s fine.”

Lily started crying. Reid looked at Bob, and they communicated silently. Bob nodded and stepped forward.

“Lily, we’re going to give you a little something to help you sleep. You can see everyone tomorrow.”

**

Luke was about ready to scream. He couldn’t believe his dad had made him go to school. School! Like he had managed to concentrate on anything that day. And then they all had to eat dinner at Grandma’s. And then Holden had very nicely asked him to let the girls see their mother first, so as not to worry them in case she got too upset or tired from talking to Luke.

Luke paced up and down the hall, every once in a while hearing the high-pitched voices of his sisters as they talked excitedly. And finally, finally, the door opened. Luke spun quickly, watching as his dad led his sisters out of the room. They were walking backwards, waving goodbye.

“OK, girls. How about some ice cream in the cafeteria?”

“Yeah!” they both replied. Natalie even jumped up and down. Luke laughed.

His dad glanced up at him, and Luke walked closer. Holden leaned in. “Take it easy, if you can. Just try and keep her stress down.”

Luke nodded. He waited until the others disappeared down the hall. Staring at the door to the room, he swallowed thickly. He tried to remember everything he had wanted to say to her these last couple months, tried to organize it in his head. And then he took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Lily looked up at him, and their eyes met. Luke laughed in relief when he saw her, finally allowing himself to really believe she was awake. And then his throat choked up.

“Mom,” he said.

She lifted her hands to her face, cupping them around her mouth and nose as she fought tears. Then she reached out, waving a hand to indicate he should come to her. Luke crossed the room in three steps. He sat on the bed beside her and tentatively leaned closer.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.

“You won’t. You can’t.”

Luke closed the distance, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. And it turned out, they didn’t need to say anything.

**

Reid walked down the hall, fighting exhaustion. He had stolen four hours of sleep in his temporary office before starting work again. He had performed his rounds and reviewed several lab tests, and now he was making his way back to Lily’s room before heading home for the day.

He passed the window, reaching a hand out for the door handle. Then he stopped abruptly and backed up a few steps. He looked through the window, taking in the sight of Luke bent over his mother, her arms wrapped around him, one hand rubbing his back.

Reid looked away and then continued down the hall. The nurse would page him if anything came up.


	14. Chapter 13

Reid sighed, his arm propped against the side of the couch and holding up his head. He scratched at his hair as he flipped through the channels. Over 100 and nothing to watch. He turned off the TV and threw the remote onto the seat next to him. Then he tilted his head back and groaned.

He should go to sleep. He still hadn’t caught up from the previous night, and he needed to recharge his body. But his brain wouldn’t shut up. He rubbed a palm down his face, pausing to rub roughly at his eyes.

There was a knock at the door, and he turned to look, feeling a slight sensation of déjà vu. Reid stood, walking to the door. He pulled it open to reveal Luke Snyder.

Luke smiled at him. “Hi,” he said.

“What are you doing here?”

Luke laughed, shaking his head. “I came to say thank you. I tried to find you at the hospital, but they said you left already.”

“I just did my job,” Reid pointed out.

“You saved my mother,” Luke countered.

They stared at each other for a while.

“Can I come in?” Luke asked softly.

Reid hesitated, and Luke laughed again, this time self-deprecatingly. “I’m not going to jump you or anything,” he promised.

Reid stepped back, allowing Luke into the house. He took a breath, exhaling it quickly as he shut the door behind Luke. By the time he turned around, Luke was already next to the couch. He picked up the remote, moving it to the coffee table as he sat down. Then he leaned over and stole a chip from Reid’s plate.

Reid swallowed, trying to calm himself, before joining Luke on the couch. Luke picked up a throw pillow and hugged it to his chest as he flopped back on the couch like only a teenager could. He didn’t look in Reid’s direction as he started talking.

“She remembers. She remembers everything. We’ve talked about it. Talked it over a lot, actually. I think she really is, you know, OK with everything.”

Reid nodded, but he didn’t say anything in response.

“I feel like – I feel like _I’m_ finally OK with it now, too. Now that I know I won’t lose my family over it.”

Reid took a breath, dropping his arm along the back of the couch, his hand landing only inches away from Luke’s head.

“I’m not sure what you want me to say here.”

“Nothing, I guess. I just – I haven’t said it since the accident, not really, and I just wanted…I’m gay.”

Reid smirked. “I had figured that out.”

Luke laughed, finally turning his head towards Reid. His eyes sparkled, and Reid gave him a small smile in return.

“You _are_ a genius.”

“This is what I’ve been telling people.”

“Nonstop.”

Reid laughed out loud, and Luke smiled at him.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever heard you laugh like that before. I like that I can make you.”

“Luke,” Reid warned, becoming serious.

Luke inhaled, turning his head away again. “I kind of want to tell _everyone_ now. I’m tired of keeping it a secret. But I don’t know if I should. The kids at school…”

“I’m not cut out to be some sort of gay-kid guidance counselor, Luke. I can’t tell you what to do. I don’t know what your school is like, or your friends.”

“In high school, were you out?”

“Yeah, I was.”

“How was that?”

“Terrifying!” Reid replied immediately.

“Were you harassed?”

“No,” he said, shifting position on the couch and propping his feet on the coffee table. “But you know what it’s like when you have a crush on some guy and you want to do something about it so bad, but you’re afraid to. You don’t know if he’s going to run away or something – it’s agony.”

“No. I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Luke replied dryly.

Reid smiled softly. “Yeah,” he drawled, reaching up to scratch next to his eye.

Luke paused for a moment. “What kind of guys did you like in high school?”

“Jocks. Dumb ones. I’d do their science homework, and they’d be so grateful, they’d – ”

“Be serious.”

Reid smirked. After a beat, he began to talk quietly. “It wasn’t until college that I really started to develop any sort of confidence when it came to things like that. I think that’s true for a lot of people. I was kind of quiet in high school. Not to say I didn’t smart off to people, because I did, but I was mostly just – really studious. Plus I skipped a couple grades, so I was younger than everyone else. I didn’t know how to make friends. I still don’t. So…I liked people who were _different_ from me, somehow. Who were nice or popular or athletic, or who struggled with their grades, or whose parents maybe weren’t quite so successful and impossible to please. There was this one guy who _everyone_ liked. I don’t mean they were all crushing on him, just – everyone liked him. He did things for people without them asking, and he stood up for kids who got picked on, and he was just amazing.”

Luke stared at Reid, amused. “You’re babbling.”

Reid snorted. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s like the Attack of the Science Nerd Guy." He hesitated, then added, "I’m just trying to explain why I would have been crazy about you in high school.”

Luke ducked his head, blushing. He picked at the pillow seam and took a deep breath. And then he changed the subject. “So I think I will come out to my friends.”

Reid nodded, accepting the new topic. “Good. Just remember, don’t apologize.”

Luke turned to him. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t apologize for who you are. Don’t feel embarrassed. If they can’t deal with it, tough. You never back down. That’s how you survive. And not to mention, you’re fantastically wealthy, so you can make your own rules.”

Luke was silent for a moment. “You giving me all this advice, opening up to me at all. It just – it feels like this is your way of saying goodbye.”

Reid looked straight ahead. Then he sighed. “It is.”

Luke nodded, exhaling a shaky breath. “Oh.”

“I have to get back to Texas. I did what I came here to do, and I have patients waiting for me.”

“I understand.”

“And six months and two weeks is too damn far away. I don’t have that kind of self-control.”

Luke risked a glance at Reid, who was now staring at him again. A small smile danced on the corners of Reid’s lips, and Luke slowly grinned. Then Reid blushed. He actually blushed, turning away from Luke. Luke took pity on him and changed the subject again.

“I can’t be in this house without expecting my grandmother to come in here and yell at me. The last time I was on this couch, I was passed out drunk with my friend Kevin. Grandmother was not pleased when she found us. Not that I blame her.”

“Your friend Kevin or your _friend_ Kevin?”

Luke laughed. “Just friends, although it took me a long time to accept that. I’m happy that I did, though, because he…isn’t who I thought he was.”

Reid nodded. “Can I offer you another piece of advice?”

“I thought you weren’t a ‘gay-kid guidance counselor.’”

“Are you going to listen or not?”

Luke nodded exaggeratedly, rolling his hand in a wide circle to indicate Reid should continue.

“This is a small town – ”

“Oh, you’ve noticed.”

“Indeed. And just probability suggests you won’t meet that many gay people here.” Reid broke off, rolling his eyes as he added, “Your own age, I mean. You might not even meet any until you go to college.”

“Oh _God_ ,” Luke groaned, tilting his head back against the couch in despair.

Reid smirked. “Anyway, don’t fall in devoted love with the first one who gives you the time of day, OK? You’re better than that. Find somebody who sticks up for you, who doesn’t call the shots or expect you to put your life on hold whenever he wants you to wait for him, who doesn’t play games…find somebody who actually treats you right. By all means, experiment, make mistakes – naked ones or otherwise, have fun, date. Just – you have an amazing heart. Save _that_ for someone who deserves it.”

Luke nodded solemnly. “I will.”

Luke held his gaze for what felt like an eternity. Then Reid shook his head, breaking the moment. “OK, I have had enough of this heart-on-your-sleeve crap. Time to find something on TV. You can stay here, if you want, but no more talking.”

Luke grinned, resettling on the couch and staring at the TV. “OK.”

Reid found a game, and they watched in peaceful quiet. Neither man spoke again. But Reid was more focused on the sound of Luke breathing than the game, and Luke kept peeking at Reid out of the corner of his eye, memorizing Reid’s profile. When the game finally ended, shortly after 10:30, Reid glanced over at Luke. The boy had fallen asleep, arms crossed over the pillow in his lap and his mouth slightly open.

Reid inched closer, staring at Luke. His eyes traveled from Luke’s obscenely long eyelashes, over the bridge of his nose, and past his mouth. Reid swallowed. He reached up and rested his fingers lightly on Luke’s lips. Then Luke began to stir, and Reid pulled back quickly.

Luke sat up, rubbing his face briskly.

“What time is it?” he mumbled.

“10:30, quarter to,” Reid replied, trying to sound casual.

“Oh crap. I gotta get home.” Luke pulled himself to his feet, and Reid stood as well.

“Are you OK to drive? I can – ”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”

Reid walked Luke to the door. They stood next to each other, and Luke focused his eyes somewhere around Reid’s sternum.

“Thank you. Thanks again. For my mom…and for tonight.”

Reid nodded. “You’re welcome.”

Luke left then, and Reid shut the door behind him. He walked slowly back to the couch and fell face-first onto it. Then he groaned.

It was definitely time to leave Oakdale.


	15. Chapter 14

It took a week to get things organized, but it was finally Reid’s last day in town. He had stayed in contact with his practice in Dallas, and they were gearing up for his return now. He planned to meet with Dr. Roberts to discuss all the open cases at Memorial, including Lily Snyder, and then he would sign off the patients to Dr. Roberts and his staff. And then he just needed to do his last-minute packing and get to the airport.

But first, he met Katie for coffee at Java. She was looking at him sadly, and Reid was worried he might actually have to deal with tears.

“I can’t believe you’re actually leaving.”

“Most people can’t wait to get rid of me. You’re the only one that wants to keep me around.”

“Oh, I doubt that very much.”

Reid sighed. “Katie.”

She held up her hands. “OK, OK. Only because I don’t want to fight our last morning together. I will say nothing.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Katie fake-laughed at him in reply and then reached into her purse.

“I have something for you.”

“Oh God,” Reid said.

She handed him a small box, and Reid took it warily. He removed the ribbon and then took the lid off. Then he rolled his eyes. He pulled a keychain out and held it up. The ring was attached to a small plastic pacifier.

“It’s something to remind you of Oakdale.”

“Mmm,” Reid replied, shaking his head in amused annoyance.

Katie smiled at him as she took a sip of her coffee.

“Anyway,” Reid said, reaching into his back pocket. “Here. Don’t get all weepy.”

He slid the small piece of paper across the table, and Katie stopped it quickly before it went right off the edge. She picked it up and turned it around to read it.

“A business card? You shouldn’t have.”

“That’s what I’m thinking!” Reid joked, then he sobered. “Turn it over. That’s my beeper number. Nobody has that, except the hospital and now you. You call that, anytime.”

Katie held the business card to her heart and smiled widely at him. “You can be expecting phone calls and emails and Christmas cards and maybe I’ll actually even come down to Dallas to see you.”

“I’ve created a monster,” Reid groaned.

**

The meeting with Dr. Roberts went smoothly, and an hour later, he left the other man’s office. He wasn’t really surprised to see Bob Hughes standing by the coffee station in the corner of the hall, pouring himself a mug. Even though there were at least three closer and usually fresher pots of coffee between his office and Dr. Roberts’.

“Ah, Dr. Oliver,” Bob said casually, falling in line next to him as Reid walked in the direction of his own soon-to-be-former office. “Well, this is it.”

“Yes, Dr. Hughes, it is.”

“And I don’t suppose there’s anything that would entice you to change your mind and make this arrangement permanent.”

Reid tilted his head to the side, pretending to think. “Well, let’s see. How about a state-of-the-art neurosurgery unit, a ridiculously outrageous salary, and a title with the word genius in it?”

Bob stared back at him for a moment, a half-smile on his lips. “You drive a hard bargain, Dr. Oliver. I can offer you a coffee mug with your name on it and free meals in the hospital cafeteria.”

Reid tilted his head back and laughed loudly. He stopped in front of his office and faced Bob, fighting the smile on his lips. “Tempting.”

Bob spread his hands out, wordlessly asking _what can you do?_

Reid sighed, holding a hand out to Bob. Bob clasped Reid’s palm and shook firmly. “You’re going to be a great doctor someday, Reid. I hope I get to see it.”

Reid rolled his eyes, letting go of Bob’s hand. “I get that, with the staff here, you wouldn’t recognize a great doctor if you saw one standing right in front of you, Bob, but I already am one,” Reid pointed out.

Bob nodded, amused at Reid’s statement of superiority. “You’re a great _surgeon_ , Dr. Oliver. I’ll give you that.”

Reid shook his head. “What’s the difference?”

“Ah!” Bob said, raising a finger in emphasis as he started to walk away. “When you understand the difference…that’s when you’ll be great at both.”

Reid stared after him. After a beat, he turned around, opening the door to his office and stepping inside.

**

It took 15 minutes for Reid to pack up the things that had somehow managed to make their way into his office at Memorial. They all fit in one box, though, which was currently sitting on the edge of the desk. Reid took a deep breath, looking around the small room.

Someone knocked on the door, and Reid turned.

“Come in.”

It was Luke. Reid wasn’t all that surprised.

“You weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye, were you?”

“I spoke with your parents this morning. Dr. Roberts is up-to-date on your mother’s condition, which is that she’s well on her way to a full recovery.”

“I meant say goodbye to me, you idiot.”

“I thought we already did that the other night.”

Luke shook his head, walking past Reid and sitting on the edge of the desk next to Reid’s box. “You’re infuriating,” he informed Reid.

“So I’ve heard,” Reid replied, fighting a smile.

Luke looked up at him, sighing heavily. He shrugged. “Have fun in Texas.”

Reid nodded. “Good luck with school and everything.”

“Thanks,” Luke said softly.

“Remember what I said.”

Luke nodded once. “Don’t apologize. Save my heart.”

“That’s right.”

With that statement, Reid stopped avoiding Luke’s eyes and he finally looked directly at him. Reid softly smiled and lifted his hand to Luke’s cheek in an echo of the night Damian’s plan was thwarted. Luke blinked slowly.

“You’re going to break a lot of hearts, though, I think,” Reid predicted.

“What about yours?” Luke whispered.

Reid flashed him another small smile. “First one.”

Luke pressed his lips together, swallowing thickly. Reid shook his head, closing his eyes briefly. “Screw it,” he muttered. Then he brought his other hand up to Luke’s other cheek, holding Luke’s head still as he planted a hard kiss on his mouth. After a few moments, he pulled back. He kept his hands where they were and watched Luke. Luke’s eyebrows were high on his forehead, and his eyes were still closed. His mouth had dropped open in surprise and, Reid imagined, arousal. Luke’s tongue darted out, and he licked his lips. Reid leaned in again.

**

Truthfully, Luke was still reeling from the closed-mouthed kiss Dr. Oliver had just given him. He was afraid to open his eyes and find himself back in bed at Fairwinds, fantasizing about the doctor or perhaps having a very vivid dream. And so he was rather surprised when a mouth pressed against his own again. This time, Dr. Oli – _Reid’s_ tongue softly touched his lips, tracing along the area that Luke had just licked.

It took a second for Luke to catch on, and then he _did_. He opened his mouth and Reid slid his tongue inside, thrusting slowly. Luke moaned quietly, lifting his own tongue to find Reid’s. They twisted around each other, softly rubbing. Luke breathed roughly through his nose, opening and closing his mouth languidly. He learned quickly the right amount of speed and pressure to give back to Reid. He could feel Reid’s hands thread through his hair, pulling at the strands as his fingers pushed firmly against Luke’s scalp.

And just as Luke finally relaxed his own hands – he had been gripping the edge of Reid’s desk – and reached out for Reid’s waist, the kiss ended. Luke leaned forward slightly, his mouth chasing after the warm, wet pleasure. But he couldn’t find Reid again.

Luke breathed heavily for a moment and then opened his eyes. The box that had been sitting on the desk next to him was no longer there, and the door to the office was swinging shut. Reid was gone.

Luke lifted his hand to his mouth slowly. He touched the tips of two fingers softly to the center of his lips. And he smiled.

The End.

That's right. The End.

_ Until the sequel. _


End file.
